The use/application of mnemonics as a pedagogical tool in auditing.

The use/application of mnemonics as a pedagogical tool in auditing. INTRODUCTION Auditing encompasses a comprehensive, complex body of knowledge.Auditing students must demonstrate a detailed knowledge of auditingconcepts in order to pass the auditing section of the CPA exam and enterpublic practice; a good general knowledge is insufficient. Thesestudents must also demonstrate a detailed knowledge of other accountingand business concepts to pass remaining sections of the exam. Given theamount and complexity of information the accounting student is requiredto learn, accounting educators must assist their students with themethodological aspects of learning the subject matter as well as thecontent itself. In other words, we must help our students learn how tolearn. Accounting educators must break down the content to be learned tomake it easier to comprehend and remember. The Accounting Education Change Commission and the AmericanAccounting Association (Francis, Mulder, and Stark, 1995) call for"intentional learning in the accounting curriculum" wherebystudents are called upon to be active learners rather than passivelisteners, and accounting educators called to create classroomenvironments and employ teaching strategies to promote intentional(active) learning. Educators have to replace staid teaching methods withtechniques that motivate students to practice and learn. One suchteaching technique, which is the focus of this paper, is the use ofmnemonics to teach auditing. Using mnemonic devices to teach new,complex, abstract material has a long track record of proven learningeffectiveness (Hutton, 1987; Iza & Gil, 1995; Male, 1996; Stephens& Dwyer, 1997). While auditing education literature is sparse, andthere is a dearth of information relating the use of mnemonic techniquesto accounting education, prior research does indicate the effectivenessof mnemonic techniques for learning a variety of other subject areas. MNEMONIC INSTRUCTION Mnemonic devices are defined as memory-enhancing techniques thatimprove learning and information recall through the use of imagery.Bellezza (1981) defined mnemonics as a strategy that creates and uses acognitive cuing structure to organize and encode information for theexpress purpose of making it more memorable. Mnemonics appear to work tocircumvent the limitations of working memory by retrieving informationdirectly from long-term memory via a single association with an existingmemory code (Levin, 1993; Wang & Thomas, 1995). DominicO'Brien, the 2000 winner of the World Memory Championships,explains that the three keys to good memory formation are"imagination, association, and location" (Butcher, 2000). Theimportant features of mnemonics are (a) they require the learner topractice the targeted material in order to integrate it into an existingmemory representation and (b) they provide an effective means ofinformation retrieval (Levin, 1993; McDaniel & Einstein, 1986; Wang& Thomas, 1995). Mnemonics are not new learning devices. The ancient Greeks andRomans employed mnemonic techniques to improve memory and enhanceoratory skills. Psychologists believe that mnemonic techniques are soeffective in learning because they impose meaning and structure tomaterial that otherwise would be unstructured or less meaningful(Butcher, 2000). This is accomplished by making associations betweenitems to be learned and items already stored in longterm memory.Mnemonics require the learner to pay attention to relevant features ofthe material and to process the material more deeply than by simplyrehearsing or memorizing it. Mnemonics empower students to learn bycuing memory through association. Prior research has demonstrated thelearning effectiveness achieved with mnemonic devices (Muha, 2000;Butcher, 2000; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 1989; Forness, Kavale, Blum& Floyd, 1997; Atkinson, 1975; Atkinson & Raugh, 1975; Levin,1993; Wang, Thomas & Ouellette, 1992). VanSandt (2005) foundsignificant increases in students' test scores after implementationof mnemonic techniques to teach business ethics. Accounting educators employ many methodologies in addition toverbal memory, including "hands-on" learning, collecting andprocessing data, inferring, predicting, thinking critically, sequencinghistorical data, establishing criteria and making decisions, solvingproblems, classifying, and summarizing. Empirical support indicates thatmnemonic strategies have been effective in promoting verbal memoryobjectives without detracting from other important learning objectives(Mastropieri, Sweda, & Scruggs, 2000). Processes such as criticalthinking are meaningless when students cannot recall primary informationabout which to think. The effectiveness of mnemonic strategies wasdemonstrated to be consistent across a diverse population of subjectareas, ages, and instructional settings (Scruggs & Mastropieri,1998). Medical students often use mnemonic techniques to commitanatomical terms to memory (Hayden, 1999). Professional programs ofstudy, such as medicine, law, and accounting, require comprehension of alarge, complex body of knowledge. Licensing boards, through theadministration of uniform examinations, insure that a specific, detailedknowledge of the subjects to be mastered is achieved prior to enteringprofessional, public practice. Therefore, educators teaching inprofessional programs should provide students with learning techniquesthat equip them to remember and recall academic content. Some educators may eschew mnemonic strategies as being odd ornonsensical. Mnemonics do not trivialize the underlying content orpromote learning by memory "tricks" vs. substantive studyingof the meaning of the content. Such concerns assume incorrectly thatmemory and comprehension objectives are mutually exclusive. They alsoignore that students often understand the meanings of academic contentbut forget the verbal labels of this content, rendering theirunderstandings inaccessible and useless in particular contexts (e.g. onexams). Research also indicates that students respond positively to the useof mnemonic learning strategies (Mastropieri, Sweda, & Scruggs,2000; Muha, 2000). Students find that mnemonics can be fun to use andmake learning and recalling critical content easier. Mnemonics providestudents with a technique for taking a mental snapshot of information tobe learned. Daniele Lapp, a Stanford University researcher and notedmemory trainer says, "Anyone can train themselves to develop habitsthat will facilitate recall" (Muha, 2000). Bower (1976) found thatsuperior students make more use of mnemonics than less talentedstudents. Carlson, Kincaid, Lance & Hodgson (2001) found the use ofmnemonics to be associated with academic performance as measured bygrade point average. Mnemonic devices can be applied to auditing, otheraccounting subjects and to other disciplines as well. In view of theimportance of learning strategies in academic studies, the use ofmnemonics constitutes an important recall facilitation strategy. THEORETICAL BASIS Memory is essential for everything we do in our daily lives:perceiving the world around us, analyzing and synthesizing information,and applying knowledge to new situations. Weiss (2000) states that,"Learning is the making of memory, which is laid down in our brainsin chemical form." These chemical changes are created at the neuronlevel, and without them, there is no substance for our minds to workwith. According to the current model of memory, sensual input from ourenvironment is processed through our perceptual memory in fractionalseconds. If deemed important, either by the conscious or unconsciousmind, the input is placed into short-term memory. One continualchallenge for instructors is insuring that students perceive incominginformation as important. From there, it is either discarded ortransferred to long-term memory. Eric Jensen, educator and author of Teaching with the Brain inMind, notes that "learning and memory are two sides of a coin. Youcan't talk about one without the other." Ken Kosik, neurologyprofessor at Harvard Medical School, explains that our brain changeswith learning in functional ways. As we learn something new, eachchemical message is laid down as a neuron chain called a neural network.Those connections become stronger the more often our brains access thenetwork. New memories create new interconnecting pathways betweenneurons. When we learn something that stays with us for any length oftime, it goes from short-term memory to long-term memory. Because new information builds on prior existing information,making new linkages and new insights is crucial to building up usefullong-term memory. Teaching directs the making of memory. As aninstructor, you select different forms of memory and teach to thecreation of those memories. For example, if teaching something in theform of visual recall, when assessing that learning, we must ask forperformance related to something visual. It is essential to match theassessment with the types of memory used in instruction and practice. Inshort, we are teaching the student to access the memory. Creating personal linkages is an approach educator Jeb Schenck usesto create long-term memories (Weiss, 2000). These linkages are conceptmaps (visual maps) showing relationships between ideas--a concept alsousing in mnemonic techniques. Two methodologies are often used toenhance long-term memory. First, using multiple forms of review enhanceslong-term memory. Another strategy to enhance recall of storedinformation is to provide a framework of retrieval cues. Creating cuingstructures is the essence of mnemonic techniques. Mnemonic techniques are strategies for organizing and/or encodinginformation which can enhance learning and improve later recall ofinformation through an imagery eliciting process (Bellezza, 1981). Thesestrategies work by generating and using cognitive curing structuresduring both learning and recall to organize and/or encode informationfor the sole purpose of making it more memorable. These cognitive cuingstructures typically are composed of either visual images or of wordsand act as connectors between the signal to the learner to recall andthe information to be remembered (Bellezza, 1981). The essence oflearning with mnemonic techniques is to associate the information to beremembered with one or more cognitive cuing structures. These cuingstructures are used later to facilitate recall by the learner through aself-cuing process. All mnemonic techniques can be classified as either organizationalor encoding. An organizational mnemonic associates in memory informationthat appears to be lacking any inherent structure. Therefore, acollection of separate items is stored in long-term memory as anintegrated whole. A system of self-cuing is used to facilitate recall.For example, acronyms aid recall by using the first letters of the wordsto be memorized as cues in retrieving the information. They integratethe information so that the cue to the item is contained in themnemonic. The auditing mnemonics created in this paper use this type ofmnemonic cuing structure. In encoding mnemonics, the learner recodes newinformation so that it becomes more associable. Based on what we know about how people learn new, complex, and/orabstract material, two general approaches present themselves (Ausubel,1968; Hutton, 1987; Iza & Gil, 1995; Male, 1996; Novak, 1991, 1993;Stephens & Dwyer, 1997). The first approach is to help studentsrelate new concepts to things they already know. As Ausubel (1968)noted, the single most important factor in learning new material is whatthe student already knows. "Meaningful learning involves theassimilation of new concepts and propositions into existing cognitivestructures" (Novak, 1993). "Not only has a consensus formedthat students must choose to build their own meanings, but we also knowthat new meanings must be constructed on the basis of knowledge theyalready possess" (Novak, 1991). The second approach is the use ofmnemonic devices to assist in remembering new material. Mnemonicsenhance recall of stored information by providing a framework ofretrieval cues associated with things the student already knows andunderstands. Facing the need to remember new, complex, and/or abstractmaterial, the utilization of mnemonic techniques has been an effective,long-standing tool (Hutton, 1987; Iza & Gil, 1995; Male, 1996;Stephens & Dwyer, 1997; VanSandt, 2005). It is a well establishedprinciple in psychology that the ability to remember is dependent on aperson's employment of mnemonic strategies (Wellman, 1978), whichis, in turn, related to the person's knowledge of those strategies(Waters, 1982). Thus, students must first be aware of the need for cognitive linksand mnemonic aids and how to use them in order to effectively learn newmaterial (VanSandt, 2005). Because our students are part of a generationreared in the information age characterized by computers, sound bites,IPods, information availability with the click of a mouse, and thediscontinuity of visual images, their ability to remember has atrophiedcompared to previous generations (Hutton, 1987; Postman, 1985).Accordingly, our students may not be as adept at creating linksconnecting new material to existing cognitive structures, even if theyrecognize the need for mnemonics. As instructors, it is incumbent uponus to assist our students by not only providing content, but also assistin this methodological aspect of learning. Therefore, we must help ourstudents learn how to learn (Novak, 1993). Mnemonic devices are effective teaching tools because they provideassistance in both learning how to learn and in grasping new concepts.Higbee (1988) listed four properties leading to effective mnemonicsystems: meaningfulness, organization, association, and visualization.Mnemonic strategies are firmly based in psychological theory(Mastropieri, Scruggs, & Levine, 1985). Mnemonic strategies arebased on the roles of meaningfulness (Underwood & Schultz, 1960) andconcreteness (Paivio, 1971) in promoting recall. Mnemonics are effectivebecause they transform nonmeaningful information into concrete,meaningful proxies. Information is retrievable because it is explicitlyelaborated. The mnemonic creates an association between the content tobe learned and a cue--keyword, phrase, or image with which the studentis already familiar. This cue allows the student to visualize thecritical content, which makes it more memorable. Mnemonics providestudents with a technique for taking a mental snapshot of theinformation to be learned. In the following section, we illustrate how first letter mnemonicsin the form of acronyms can be used in teaching auditing. First lettermnemonics are the most popular form of mnemonics (Gruneberg &Morris, 1979). First letter cuing can be used as a combined encoding andretrieval system. Empirical studies demonstrating the effectiveness offirst letter mnemonics include McKenzie and Sawyer (1986), Nelson andArcher (1972), Malhotra (1991), and Perewiznyk and Blick (1978). Firstletter mnemonics are a type of organizational mnemonic. As discussedearlier, organizational mnemonics facilitate learning and recall ofinformation that appears to be lacking structure. This type of mnemonicis well suited to enhance learning of information that is inherentlycomplex or highly abstract. Therefore, we have found it particularlysuited to teaching auditing; an accounting class which is entirelyconceptual in nature and for which students typically have no priorframework of knowledge or experience to relate to. As a result, for moststudents, the auditing concepts seem very abstract and have little, ifany, connection to other things they already know. This lack of aconnection can be a serious impediment to learning (Ausubel, 1968). Wehave found the use of mnemonic techniques to be effective learning toolsfor our auditing students. AUDITING MNEMONICS--DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION We developed our unique mnemonics for teaching basic auditingconcepts by reviewing textbooks and selecting critical content thatstudents must learn in satisfying course objectives as well as meetingCPA exam requirements. We also examined this body of critical contentand tried to identify concepts that typically pose a problem forstudents. In this way, we were able to prioritize items for mnemonicdevelopment. For each critical content component, we developed mnemonicsby associating the critical content with a word, phrase, or image withwhich the student is already familiar. Sometimes this was accomplishedby linking the first letter of each component of content to a new wordor phrase. Often, by looking at the spelling and sound of the concept,one can derive an easy, familiar word or phrase to be the keyword. Themnemonic device creates a cue or association which in turn makes theinformation more memorable. Presented below are examples of themnemonics we have created for teaching auditing concepts. To teach the ten Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, wedeveloped the mnemonic:TIPPITOVERGeneral Standards:T The auditor must have adequate technical Training and proficiency to perform the audit.I The auditor must maintain an Independence in mental attitude.P The auditor must exercise due Professional care in the Performance of the audit and the Preparation of the report.Standards of fieldwork:P The auditor must adequately Plan the work and properly supervise assistants.I The auditor must obtain a sufficient understanding of the entity and its environment, including, its Internal control, to assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and to design the nature, timing, and extent of further audit procedures.T The Third standard of fieldwork requires the auditor to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence by performing audit procedures and Tests to afford an opinion regarding the financial statements.Standards of Reporting:O In expressing an Opinion, the auditor must state whether the financial statements are presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).V The auditor must Verify that GAAP has been consistently applied in the current period in relation to the preceding period and identify inconsistencies.E The auditor must Evaluate the financial statements to determine if informative disclosures are not adequate and so note in the auditor's report.R The auditor must either express an opinion regarding the financial statements, taken as a whole, or state that an opinion cannot be expressed in the auditor's Report. When the auditor cannot express an overall opinion, Reasons should be stated in the auditor's Report. In all cases where an auditor's name is associated with the financial statements, the auditor should clearly indicate the character of the auditor's work, if any, and the degree of Responsibility the auditor is taking in the auditor's Report.In some cases, it may be helpful to combine double or triplemnemonic devices for related content. For example, the secondstandard of fieldwork requires the auditor to acquire a sufficientunderstanding of the entity and its environment, including itsinternal control system. We developed a second mnemonic to providethe students with cues about what this standard requires to be a"sufficient understanding." The auditor must "know" the businessentity, therefore:NEUMEN Understanding the Nature of the client, including the client's application of accounting policies.E The industry, regulatory, and other External factors affecting the clientU Understanding the client's strategies and objectives and related risks.M Methods used to Measure and review performance.E Evaluating the client's system of internal control.This leads the student to the objective of a knowledge of thecomponents of internal control, for which we developed thefollowing mnemonic:5 Components of Internal ControlCREAMC Control ActivitiesR Risk AssessmentE The Control EnvironmentA The Accounting Information and Communication SystemM MonitoringAnother critical content area is "audit risk." We developed twomnemonics for audit risk.3 Components of Audit RiskCIDC Control Risk: The risk of material misstatement (RMM) will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by the client's internal control.I Inherent Risk: The RMM before considering the client's internal control--misstatements likely to occur in the client's financial statements.D Detection Risk: The risk that the auditor will fail to detect a material misstatement.orACIDAR = CR x IR x DRAR = Audit Risk equalsCR Control Risk xIR Inherent Risk xDR Detection RiskAudit evidence is another critical content area. The two mnemonicswe have developed relating to audit evidence are:AGE = ARMM'dA Auditors A Assess theG Gather To R Risk ofE Evidence M Material Misstatement There is a cliche that says "with age, comes wisdom."This mnemonic derives from that. Auditors are armed with evidencegathered from the audit process and procedures. One objective of theaudit is to assess the risk of material misstatement; the evidencegathered during the audit enables the auditor to make that assessmentand determine accordingly if additional audit procedures/tests areneeded. The discussion segues right into a discussion of the types of auditevidence, for which we developed the following mnemonic: Types of Audit Evidence D Documentary Evidence A The Accounting Information System T Third-Party Representations A Arithmetic Computations D Data Interrelationships O Observation--Physical C Client Representations Class discussion includes examples of each type of evidence, thequality of the evidence based on the assertion being tested, and when itshould be used. Another area of critical interest is audit reports. There are 4basic audit reports; therefore, we use the mnemonic QUAD (meaning four)to facilitate recall of the four basic types of audit reports. QUAD Qualified opinion Unqualified opinion Adverse opinion Disclaimer of opinion Auditors issue an audit report to express an opinion on thefinancial statements of the company taken as whole. Auditors may issuean unqualified opinion, a qualified opinion, or an adverse opinion toattest to whether the financial statements were presented fairly inaccordance with GAAP and to note any material exceptions,qualifications, or limitations, if applicable. The auditor may issue adisclaimer of opinion if he/she feels an opinion cannot be made due tolimitations to the audit. The study of audit reporting has many layers. If the auditor iscompelled to issue an opinion other than a standard, unqualifiedopinion, special circumstances apply for each type of exception. Thefollowing mnemonic was developed to facilitate remembering the specificcircumstances justifying a departure from the standard report, a seriousissue for management: SERIOUS Substantial doubt--GC Emphasis of a matter Required SEC quarterly data Inconsistency of GAAP; comparability issues Opinion--Other auditors Unusual circumstances requiring GAAP departure Supplementary information Classroom case studies provide students an opportunity to assessvarious company scenarios to determine if a report other than standardis called for, what circumstances justify the required report, and arequirement to write the necessary report. To summarize exceptions to the standard unqualified report, weutilize the following: DSL Departure from GAAP Scope limitations Lacking independence To achieve maximum learning from these mnemonic devices, repetitionof the mnemonic as well as incorporating the device inpractice/application activities such as class work and homework will aidstudent memory and understanding. Students must apply the mnemonic totheir learning. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS Research indicates that students respond favorably to the use ofmnemonic learning strategies (Mastropieri, Sweda, & Scruggs, 2000;Muha, 2000). Students often find that mnemonics can be fun to use. Theyprovide students with a mechanism for taking a mental snapshot of theinformation to be learned. Mnemonics have been shown to be highlyeffective at promoting memory of critical content. Prior research hassuggested that processes such as critical thinking are themselvesmeaningless when students cannot recall primary information about whichto think. Mnemonics require the learner to note relevant features of thematerial and to process the material more deeply than by simplymemorizing it. Mnemonics impose meaning and structure to material thatotherwise would be unstructured or meaningless. It enables learning bycuing memory through association between items to be learned and itemsalready stored in long-term memory. In this way, mnemonic learningstrategies provide a bridge--a connection to other things already knownto the learner. Mnemonic techniques do not detract from other learningobjectives and can be very effective in engaging the student in thelearning process. LIMITATIONS A limitation to using mnemonic learning strategies involves thetime and resources needed to develop and implement the mnemonic devices.Educators must apply creativity to constructing effective mnemonics,which are time consuming to develop. Instructors must review texts andselect concepts that are assessed as critical content and theirassociated meanings. Then, a mnemonic must be created for rememberingthe concept and its associated meaning. The simplest, most creativemnemonics typically result in the most effective learning. Also, some instructors may eschew mnemonic learning strategiesbecause of concern that they appear odd, nonsensical, or seem to bearlittle resemblance to the content to be learned. Mnemonic devices mayappear to trivialize underlying content and to promote learning bymemory "tricks" rather than substantive studying of themeaning of the content. However, such concerns incorrectly assume thatmemory and comprehension objectives are mutually exclusive. They alsoignore the fact that students frequently understand the meaning ofacademic content, but forget the verbal labels of this content, thusrendering their comprehension inaccessible and useless in testsituations. Other limitations address how much information can be acquired andremembered in a given amount of time, regardless of the methodsutilized. As with all instruction, mnemonic learning aids must beinserted at appropriate positions in the instructional sequence toachieve maximum effectiveness (Dick & Reiser, 1989; Glaser, 1976;Haertel et al., 1983). Future research plans for gauging the effectiveness of mnemonicdevices for teaching auditing will include testing these devices in theclassroom through use of a pretest/posttest instrument as well as aclass survey document. Future research on using mnemonics as effectiveencoding techniques might also examine experimental situations in whichlearners are required to generate their own personal mnemonics whenattempting to learn relatively difficult, abstract, or unfamiliarmaterial. Prior empirical research provides some evidence of higherrecall rates after generation of person, idiosyncratic mnemonic systemsfor learning verbal information (Levin, 1993; McDaniel & Einstein,1986; Wang & Thomas, 1995). BIBLIOGRAPHY Atkinson, R. S., & Raugh, M. R. (1975), "An Application ofthe Mnemonic Keyword Method to the Acquisition of a RussianVocabulary," Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning andMemory, 1, 126-133. Atkinson, Richard C. (1975), "Mnemotechnics in Second-LanguageLearning," American Psychologist, 27, 821-828. Bellezza, Francis R. (1981), "Mnemonic Devices:Classification, Characteristics, and Criteria," Review ofEducational Research, 51, 247-275. Bower, G. H. (1970), "Analysis of a Mnemonic Device,"American Science, 58, 496-510. Butcher, James (2000), "Dominic O'Brien--MasterMnemonist," Lancet, 356(9232), 836-837. Carlson, Robert F., Kincaid, J. Peter, Lance, Sara and Hodgson,Thomas (1976), "Spontaneous Use of Mnemonics and Grade PointAverage," The Journal of Psychology, 92, 117-122. Dick, W., & Reiser, R. A. (1989), Planning EffectiveInstruction, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Forness, S. R., Kavale, K. A., Blum, B. M., & Lloyd, J. (1997),"Mega-Analyses: What Works in Special Education and RelatedServices," TEACHING Exceptional Children, 29(6), 4-9. Francis, M. C., Mulder, T. C., & Stark, J. S. (1995),"Intentional Learning: A Process for Learning to Learn in theAccounting Curriculum," Accounting Education Series, AccountingEducation Change Commission and the American Accounting Association,12(2329), 119-150. Glaser, R. (1976), "Components of a Psychology of Instruction:Toward a Science of Design," Review of Educational Research, 46,1-24. Haertel, G. D., Walberg, H. J., & Weinstein, T. (1983), "Psychological Models of Educational Performance: A Theoretical Synthesisof Constructs," Review of Educational Research, 53, 75-91. Hayden, Gregory F. (1999), "Alliteration in Medicine: APuzzling Profusion of P's," British Medical Journal,319(7225), 1605-1608. Hutton, P. H. (1987), "The Art of Memory Reconceived: FromRhetoric to Psycho-Analysis," Journal of the History of Ideas,48(3), 371-392. Iza, N., & Gil, M. (1995), "A Mnemonic Method forAssigning the Electronic Configurations of Atoms," Journal ofChemical Education, 72(11), 1025-1026. Levin, J. R. (1993), "Mnemonic Strategies and ClassroomLearning: A 20-year Report Card," Elementary School Journal, 94,235-244. Male, D. B. (1996), "Metamemorial Functioning of Children withModerate Learning Difficulties," British Journal of EducationalPsychology, 66, 145-157. Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (1989), "ConstructingMore Meaningful Relationships: Mnemonic Instruction for SpecialPopulations," Educational Psychology Review, 1, 83-111. Mastropieri, M. A., Sweda, J., & Scruggs, T. E. (2000),"Putting Mnemonic Strategies to Work in an InclusiveClassroom," Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 15(2),69-74. McDaniel, M. A., & Einstein, G. O. (1986), "BizarreImagery as an Effective Memory Aid: The Importance ofDistinctiveness," Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning,Memory, and Cognition, 12, 54-65. Muha, Laura (2000), "Boost YourBrainpower," Biography, 4(9), 72-76. Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (1998), "SummarizingSingle-Subject Research: Issues and Applications," BehaviorModification, 22(3), 221-242. Stephens, J. A. H., & Dwyer, F. M. (1997), "Affect ofVaried Mnemonics Strategies in Facilitating Student Achievement ofDifferent Educational Objectives," International Journal ofInstructional Media, 24(1), 75-88. VanSandt, C.V. (2005), Three on Three: A Tale for Business EthicsClasses, Journal of Management Education, 29(3), 475-489. Wang, A. Y., & Thomas, M. H. (1995), "The Effects ofKeywords on Long-Term Retention: Help or Hindrance?" Journal ofEducational Psychology, 87, 468-475. Wang, A. Y., Thomas, M. H., & Ouellette, J. A. (1992),"The Keyword Mnemonic and Retention of Second-Language VocabularyWords," Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 520-528. Waters, H. S. (1982), "Memory Development during Adolescence:Relationship Between Metamemory, Strategy Use, and Performance, Journalof Experimental Child Psychology, 33, 183-195. Weiss, Ruth Palombo (2000), "Memory and Learning,"Training and Development, 54(10), 46-50. Wellman, H. M. (1978), "Knowledge of the Interaction of MemoryVariables: A Developmental Study of Metamemory," DevelopmentalPsychology, 14, 24-29. Sharon S. Seay, Macon State College Harry G. McAlum, Macon StateCollege