Article

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether retrieval practice (RP) is a more effective
memory strategy than restudy in children and adolescents with traumatic brain
injury (TBI). DESIGN: Three x two within-subjects experiment: 3 (learning
condition: massed restudy [MR], spaced restudy [SR], retrieval practice [RP]) x 2
(stimulus type: verbal paired associates [VPAs] and face-name pairs [FNPs]). The
dependent measure was delayed recall of VPAs and FNPs. SETTING: Subacute
pediatric neurorehabilitation center. PARTICIPANTS: Pediatric survivors of TBI
(N=15) aged 8 to 16 years with below-average memory. INTERVENTION: During RP,
participants were quizzed on to-be-learned information (VPAs and FNPs) shortly
after it was presented, such that they practiced retrieval during the learning
phase. MR consisted of repeated restudy (tantamount to cramming). SR consisted of
restudy trials separated in time (ie, distributed learning). MAIN OUTCOME
MEASURES: Delayed recall of 24 VPAs and 24 FNPs after a 25-minute delay. VPAs and
FNPs were equally divided across 3 learning conditions (16 per condition).
RESULTS: There was a large main effect of learning condition on delayed recall
(P<.001; etap(2)=.84), with better mean recall of VPAs and FNPs studied through
RP (6.23+/-1.39) relative to MR (3.60+/-1.53; P<.001) and SR (4.77+/-1.39;
P<.001). Moreover, RP was the single best learning strategy for every
participant. CONCLUSIONS: Memory problems and related academic learning
difficulties are common after pediatric TBI. Herein, we identify RP as a
promising and simple strategy to support learning and improve memory in children
and adolescents with TBI. Our experimental findings were quite robust and set the
stage for subsequent randomized controlled trials of RP in pediatric TBI.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS