Mnemonics: Strengthening Thinking Skills of Students with Special Needs

The Effects of Mnemonic Interventions on Academic Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities: A Systematic Review

“…Atkinson's (1975) study reported the results of using the keyword mnemonic technique to help foreign language learners better learn and recall Russian words. Mnemonics is now solidly grounded in the psychological literature on associative learning and a "mnemonic" is typically defined "as a word, sentence, or picture device or technique for improving or strengthening memory" (Lombardi & Butera, 1998). It can be argued that a student's success in school is in large part incumbent on his/her ability to retain and recall factual content information in content exams (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 1998).…”

“…Cooney & Swanson, 1987; Rivera & Smith, 1997; Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 1992). Currently, most secondary–school students with disabilities are primarily taught in general education classrooms and success in those classrooms depends highly on the ability to learn strategically— to learn how to learn effectively (Lombardi & Butera, 1998). While some researchers argue mnemonic strategies are ineffective for long–term retention (Krinsky & Krinsky, 1994), most who study mnemonic strategies do so because, “over and over again, they have been proven to be extremely effective in helping people remember things” (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 1998, p. 202).…”

From no to yes : the impact of an intervention on the persistence of algebraic misconceptions among secondary school algebra students

“…A well-known spelling process mnemonic is "i before e, except after c, or when it sounds a, as in neighbor and weigh." There is a large body of research supporting the use of mnemonics to increase student performance and retention (Irish, 2002;Lombardi & Butera, 1999;Maccini, Mulcahy, & Wilson, 2007;Manalo, 2002). This review focuses on process mnemonics due to its relevance to the current study.…”

“…As a part of a comprehensive teaching strategy, mnemonics can be a valuable tool. As a further benefit, the teacher need only remind students of a previously taught mnemonic to activate retrieval and use of the underlying process (Lombardi & Butera, 1999). In the context of the CRKM (Dole & Sinatra, 1998), a process mnemonic could serve as a peripheral cue to catch students' attention and draw them into high engagement with the message.…”

“…Mnemonics, defined as a word, sentence, or pictorial device or technique for strengthening memory, can help (Lombardi & Butera, 1999). There are two basic types: fact mnemonics for remembering a specific piece of information, and process mnemonics used for remembering rules and procedures (Manalo, 2002).…”