Metamemory and Mnemonics: a Study of Elementary School Memory Strategies

Carol Martin

Date of Graduation

Summer 1987

Degree

Master of Science in Education in Elementary Education

Department

Childhood Education and Family Studies

Committee Chair

Darrell Roubinek

Abstract

Certain memory techniques have been proven effective since ancient times, yet current educational practice seems to ignore the importance of teaching these strategies to children. Since one cannot teach skills of which he is unaware, this study reviewed historical memory methods. A questionaire was used to assess graduate students' recall of how they were taught to remember, and their percieved methods of teaching memory strategies to students. A high percentage of participants believe that they were not taught memory strategies, but that they have developed their own methods of remembering. The questionaire asked for examples of single use mnemonics, and a compendium of those mnemonics was included in this study. An adapted questionaire was given to fourth and fifth graders and their teachers to survey metamemory and familiarity with single use mnemonics.

Subject Categories

Elementary Education and Teaching

Copyright

© Carol Martin

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Dissertation/Thesis

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