Memorization techniques: Using mnemonics to learn fifth grade science terms

The purpose of this study was to determine whether mnemonic instruction could assist students in learning fifth-grade science terminology more effectively than traditional-study methods of recall currently in practice The task was to examine if fifth-grade students were able to learn a mnemonic and then use it to understand science vocabulary; subsequently, to determine if students were able to remember the science terms after a period of time. The problem is that in general, elementary school students are not being successful in science achievement at the fifth grade level. In view of this problem, if science performance is increased at the elementary level, then it is likely that students will be successful when tested at the 8th and 10l grade in science with the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) in the future. Two research questions were posited: 1) Is there a difference in recall achievement when a mnemonic such as method of loci, pegword method, or keyword method is used in learning fifth-grade science vocabulary as compared to the traditional-study method? 2) If using a mnemonic in learning fifth-grade science vocabulary was effective on recall achievement, would this achievement be maintained over a span of time? The need for this study was to assist students in learning science terms and concepts for state accountability purposes. The first assumption was that memorization techniques are not commonly applied in fifth-grade science classes in elementary schools. A second assumption was that mnemonic devices could be used successfully in learning science terms and increase long term retention. The first limitation was that the study was conducted on one campus in one school district in South Texas which limited the generalization of the study. The second limitation was that it included random assigned intact groups as opposed to random student assignment to fifth-grade classroom groups