Assessing the Impact of Elaborative Strategy Instruction Relative to Spontaneous Strategy Use in High Achievers

We asked high achievers from Grades 5 and 6 to learn 54 animal facts after being assigned to one of three experimental conditions: elaborative interrogation, spon- taneous strategy, or repetition control. High achievers in the elaborative interroga- tion and spontaneous strategy conditions outperformed their peers in the repetition condition. No learning differences were found between the spontaneous strategy and the elaborative interrogation groups. The majority of students in the sponta- neous strategy condition were able to generate and successfully employ sophisticated learning strategies of their own. However, elaborative interrogation was an equally potent learning strategy for these high-achieving children, suggesting that instruc- tion using this strategy can be beneficial for those students who do not have this strategy in their repertoire.