| This study investigated the effects of incorporating personal style information within memory strategy training on student choice of strategies, retention of material, and transfer of learning from studying in dyads to an individual study situation. The learning style information was intended to personalize metacognitive training received by students, in order to increase retention, transfer, and versatility of strategy choices.; The sample consisted of three sections of remedial reading, community college students. Six seventy-five minute class sessions were conducted with each class. Subjects were pretested on reading comprehension and were given a learning style profile during the first session. Treatment subjects received their learning style profiles, and an explanation of their strengths and weaknesses on each profile scale. Control subjects did not receive information about their learning style profiles. Both treatment and control groups participated in the training of seven strategies for remembering text material. The treatment subjects were given advice, according to their learning style profiles, about which memory strategies would emphasize their particular strengths or weaknesses. Both groups participated in a practice session using the cooperative learning method, in which they studied two practice text passages with a partner, and then recalled what they could from the two passages. They were asked to report any of the seven strategies that they used during recall. Subjects then studied two new passages (presented in counterbalanced order), one passage with their partner using the cooperative learning method, and the second passage alone. Recalls and strategy usage reports were taken after studying the passages (immediate recall), and again two days later (delayed recall).; The four dependent variables were the number of main ideas recalled from the passages, the number of details recalled from the passages, the number of times the subject reported using a strategy during recall, and the number of different strategies reported. Results showed that treatment group subjects performed better on the retention of main ideas and details on immediate recall, reported more strategy usage on both immediate and delayed recalls, and reported a wider range of strategies on immediate recall.; Conclusions of the study were that using personal style information as part of metacognitive training within strategy training, increased the effectiveness of the strategy training and transfer of training, as evidenced by the retention of main ideas and details; made students more willing to use the trained strategies, and more willing to diversify their choice of strategies. It is recommended that personal style information be given to students, as well as to parents and teachers, and used in conjunction with strategy training over longer periods of time to obtain optimal benefits on strategy training and transfer. |
