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

Abstract

The relationship between mnemonic instruction and academic performance for secondaryschool-age youth with disabilities was explored in this systematic review. A total of 20 studies intervening with 669 youth with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, and mild developmental disabilities were reviewed. The findings of this review strongly support the efficacy of mnemonic interventions across study methods, educational settings, student ages, and disabilities in the improvement of academic performance, typically measured by recall of word meanings or factual information. A series of detailed implications for practice is discussed and reference is made to specific literature providing detailed descriptions of mnemonic interventions.

Textbook Characteristics That Support or Thwart Comprehension: The Current State of Social Studies Texts

“…For this reason, in addition to developing background knowledge as recommended by Harniss et al (2001), it would be prudent for teachers to explicitly preteach important vocabulary that students will encounter while reading. This might include the use of semantic organizers (Dexter & Hughes, 2009), mnemonics (Wolgemuth, Cobb, & Alwell, 2008), or instruction in affixes and Greek and Latin roots (Baumann, Edwards, Boland, Olejnik, & Kameenui, 2003). This preteaching of vocabulary is especially important for struggling readers because students who have strong vocabularies understand more of what they read and learn more vocabulary through reading (Berkeley & Scruggs, 2010;Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998).…”

What High School Administrators Need to Know About Secondary Transition Evidence-Based Practices and Predictors for Students With Disabilities

“…These practices include mnemonic strategies , peer assistance (Winokur, Cobb, & Dugan, 2007), self-management strategies (Wolgemuth, Cobb, & Dugan, 2007), technological interventions (Dugan, Cobb, & Alwell, 2007), and visual displays (Wolgemuth, Trujillo, Cobb, & Alwell, 2008). These evidence-based academic interventions are described in more detail in Table 1.…”

The Relationship Between Educational Placement, Instructional Practices, and Achievement Gains of Black Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in Secondary Urban School Settings

“…Mnemonic strategies was not reported by the teachers in this study even though the findings of Wolgemuth, Cobb, and Alwell (2008) strongly support the use of this strategy in the improvement of academic performance across study methods, student ages, disabilities, and educational settings. The research is clear that when ethnically diverse students are taught through their own cultural filters, their academic achievement improves (Gay, 2004).…”

“…Reducing the gap from research to practice in special education was the aim of this research demonstration project. Wolgemuth, Cobb, and Alwell (2008) studied the relationship between academic performance and mnemonic instruction through a systematic review of 20 studies intervening with 669 secondary students with disabilities. Their findings strongly support the use of mnemonics in the improvement of academic performance across study methods, student ages, disabilities, and educational settings.…”

“…The keyword method connects an unknown word to a similar-sounding known word. The acronym method assigns a known specific word/idea to each letter in the word (Anderson et al, 2004;Scruggs et al, 2010;Wolgemuth et al, 2008;Hughes et al, 2003).…”