Author Description

The purpose of this book was twofold: (a) to associate age-related performance deficits in younger children with the use of recall strategies, and (b) to determine whether children who performed poorly in the motor skill would benefit from learning to apply a recall strategy. Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, younger children (5- 7 years) and older children (8-10 years) were asked to recall selected pedaling cadences. Strategy was assessed by questioning the children immediately following the recall. In this experiment the majority of the older children used strategies, while the younger children did not. Children who used strategies performed with less error than the children who did not. In Experiment 2 then, children with high errors in Experiment 1 were assigned to an experimental or a control group. The children in the experimental group were taught to use a specific strategy to assist their recall. The results showed that children who received the instruction in strategy use improved their performance. Thus across this age range, poor performance was modifiable by explicit instruction.