A core task of school is to promote cognitive development, especially the effective use of memory strategies, because the acquisition of metamemorial competencies enables pupils to learn how to learn. The findings of cognitive developmental psychology show that already in primary school children can be proficient in simple memory strategies. A quasi-experimental study is presented which examines the question to which extent German schools achieve this objective and if pupils in Germany are able to use memory strategies like categorial organisation effectively in explicit respectively implicit learning conditions. The results are sobering: Even in instructional learning settings efficient strategies like categorial organisation are not applied frequently. Furthermore, pupils have not internalised organisation skills and are not able to use them automatically. Consequences regarding teaching practice, the content of curricula and teacher-training are discussed.
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