Increasing Content-Area Learning: A Comparison of Mnemonic and Visual-Spatial Direct Instruction

In two experiments, learning-disabled (LD) students were taught attributes of North American minerals via mnemonic instruction, free study, or a visual-spatial display condition similar to that proposed by Engelmann and Carnine (1982). In the first experiment, 36 junior-high-school-age LD students were taught specific attribute values (e.g., hardness = 1,2, 3; color = pink, green; use = radios, acid, jewelry). In the second experiment, 36 elementary-age students were taught dichotomous attribute classifications (hard vs. soft; pale vs. dark; home vs. industrial use). In both experiments, students learned significantly more information in the mnemonic condition, and students in the visual-spatial condition did not statistically exceed free-study students in total amount learned.