Elaborative interrogation effects for children with learning disabilities: Isolated facts versus connected prose

Adolescents identified with learning disabilities participated in three studies designed to examine the effectiveness of elaborative interrogation for improving recall and comprehension. Students in each study were randomly assigned to either rehearse or answer ''why'' questions about (a) arbitrary pairings of subjects and predicates and (b) two types of paragraph-length materials. Elaborative interrogation had a large effect on recall with isolated facts but differential effects were noted for recognition and comprehension of paragraph-length materials as a function of the type of sentences contained in the paragraphs. Elaborative interrogation did not enhance recognition or comprehension of paragraphs made up of sentences which already contained some elaboration or explanatory detail. However, for paragraphs made up of sentences which were not elaborated, elaborative interrogation improved recall of the material presented. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.