Typical and Atypical Information As Structural Categories in the Instructional Processes

Research into the acquisition of knowledge incorporated in schema showed that the recognition of typical and atypical events decreases differently over a retention interval. In addition, the models of a priori probability of response have proven useful when applied to recognition memory in the study of schema. The main aim of this research has been to extend the above findings to a classroom situation. The script ''Going to school'' was complied by 8- or 9-yr.-old children and the events of the script were divided into typical and atypical. A recognition task was carried out over five retention periods. The recognition scores were calculated as ratios of hits to false alarms, and the probability effects were corrected using the memory score formula (MS). Analysis confirmed that typical and atypical events are processed in a different manner over different retention periods and permitted suggesting some applications in both learning and instructional processes, especially in initial teaching of subject matter and in planning of activities.