Mnemonic Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities: What it is and What it Does

Abstract

One of the characteristics of learning disabled (LD) students most commonly mentioned by teachers and researchers is difficulty with semantic memory. Recently, an instructional model has been developed, referred to as mnemonic instruction, which is directly targeted to learners with difficulties in semantic memory. This article describes the concept of mnemonic instruction and how it interacts with the specific learning characteristics of LD students. Additionally, the extraordinary effectiveness of the techniques with LD students, as reported in numerous published research studies, is described. Implications for classroom instruction and further research are provided.