Comparison of two instructional strategies for acquiring form and sound of Hebrew letters by students with mild mental retardation

This study investigates the use of mnemonic strategies in using pictures for enhancing acquisition of the form and sounding of letters (consonants), by students with mild mental retardation. Twenty-four students with mild mental retardation aged 10-15 were selected for this study. Participants were divided into two groups, with and without mnemonics, matched for age, sex, and number of years with the classroom teacher. Two intervention strategies used for the study were identical in the procedures differing only in inclusion of pictures as a mnemonic strategy in the experimental condition. The mnemonics group used picture cards to enhance association and assist in letter identification. Results indicate that the mnemonic group learned significantly more letters than the control group. The relevance of the results and their implications for learning are discussed.