Productive extension of semantic memory in school-aged children: Relations with reading comprehension and deployment of cognitive resources.

Abstract

We investigated 7- to 10-year-old children’s productive extension of semantic memory through self-generation of new factual knowledge derived through integration of separate yet related facts learned through instruction or through reading. In Experiment 1, an experimenter read the to-be-integrated facts. Children successfully learned and integrated the information and used it to further extend their semantic knowledge, as evidenced by high levels of correct responses in open-ended and forced-choice testing. In Experiment 2, on half of the trials, the to-be-integrated facts were read by an experimenter (as in Experiment 1) and on half of the trials, children read the facts themselves. Self-generation performance was high in both conditions (experimenter- and self-read); in both conditions, self-generation of new semantic knowledge was related to an independent measure of children’s reading comprehension. In Experiment 3, the way children deployed cognitive resources during reading was predictive of their subsequent recall of newly learned information derived through integration. These findings indicate self-generation of new semantic knowledge through integration in school-age children as well as relations between this productive means of extension of semantic memory and cognitive processes engaged during reading.

Young adults self-derive and retain new factual knowledge through memory integration

“…On the other hand, in cases in which knowledge extension is contingent on single-trial learning procedures, such as in the present research, integrative encoding is necessary but not sufficient for explicit knowledge extension. Consistent with this notion, in a child analogue of the paradigm employed here, Varga and Bauer (2013) inserted delays throughout the learning process and found that self-derivation through integration consisted of a two-step process, one of integrative encoding followed by flexible manipulation of that information at test (see Bauer, Blue, Xu, & Esposito, 2016 for similar encoding results using eye-tracking). It is therefore reasonable to suggest that related stem facts may be integrated in advance of a test probe which then further prompts explicit self-derivation.…”

Going beyond the lesson: Self-generating new factual knowledge in the classroom

“…In Bauer, Blue, Xu, and Esposito (2016), self-generation of new factual knowledge through integration of separate episodes of new learning was evidenced in a paradigm in which children were required to integrate across separate sentences conveying true but novel facts. Self-generation was related to reading comprehension as tested using the Woodcock Johnson Test of reading comprehension.…”

“…As such, individual variability in the process of self-generation through integration can be expected to relate to academic achievement. Indirect evidence consistent with this prediction comes from laboratory tests with 7- to 10-year-olds (Bauer, Blue, Xu, & Esposito, 2016). Children either read or were read facts by an experimenter in the process of a board game.…”

“…Based on the logical arguments above, we further expected to observe relations between the productive process and academic achievement. We selected the wide age (and grade) range because laboratory studies have found the period of early childhood to be one of rapid development in self-generation through integration performance (e.g., Bauer, Blue, et al, 2016; Bauer & Larkina, 2016; Bauer & San Souci, 2010). The period is also when formal instruction begins in the United States.…”

Realizing Relevance: The Influence of Domain‐Specific Information on Generation of New Knowledge Through Integration in 4‐ to 8‐Year‐Old Children

“…In future research, it would be beneficial to develop alternative paradigms that permit administration of a larger number of test trials. Steps in this direction were taken in Bauer, Blue, Xu, and Esposito (), in which 7‐ to 10‐year‐old children played a board “game” during which they learned a number of novel stem facts. They later were tested on up to 10 trials of self‐generation based on integration of the stem facts.…”