Map Feature Content and Text Recall of Good and Poor Readers

Two experiments evaluated the effect of map feature content on recall of text auded by subjects of varying reading skill levels. In Experiment 1, elementary students with below average reading skill studied a map with features represented by labels, symbols with labels, or mimetic drawings with labels before listening to text. Students who studied the mimetic map recalled significantly more map-featured text information than students who studied label or symbol maps. In Experiment 2, good and poor readers studied a mimetic or a label map prior to listening to text. While good readers recalled more map-featured and nonfeatured information than poor readers, no differences were found between map feature content conditions. Map-featured information was better recalled than nonfeatured information by all groups in both experiments. Data from both experiments provide support for the conjoint retention hypothesis.