When presented with items that must be generated versus read at encoding, individuals typically remember better those items that they generated versus those that they only read. We examined whether--given the opportunity to experience such differential memorial consequences of generating versus reading--participants might change how they processed future to-be-read information. In a first set of two experiments, participants were able to profit from such an experience to the extent that a generation advantage was eliminated on subsequent memory tests of generated and read items. Two additional experiments demonstrated the critical nature of this experience in leading to improved processing of future to-be-read information and elimination of a generation advantage. We believe that these results relate to the characterization of the learner emerging from recent metacognitive research and have possible implications for how learners might be induced to process information more effectively.

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An effective lecture—one that induces effective processing in one's students—can be a successful method of teaching.

The developing efficiency of simple arithmetic computations using dual reaction-time (RT) tasks was studied. The primary task of true-false verification of 2-term addition problems and the secondary task of auditory probe detection provided measures of the processing demands of encoding, computation, comparison, decision, and response stages of the addition process. Developmental shifts in the efficiency with which 2nd, 4th, and 6th graders and college adults computed answers to these problems were found. The dual task demands exceeded the processing resources of 2nd graders throughout all stages of the addition process; increasing processing efficiency was demonstrated by 4th and 6th graders, and for college Ss some informationprocessing costs were associated with both early and later stages of the addition process. These costs were attributable to resources other than those required by general alertness factors and structural demands of the dual tasks.