Do Not Forget the Keyword Method: Learning Educational Content With Arbitrary Associations

Learning arbitrary associations can be a difficult task for students. In two experiments, we investigated the utility of the keyword method, retrieval practice, and a keyword-retrieval combination strategy relative to repeated study for learning anthropologists’ names and their contributions to the field of anthropology. Both experiments found that the keyword method and retrieval practice were somewhat equally effective study methods when used separately, though the size of the keyword effect (better learning relative to repeated study) was consistently more robust than that for the retrieval-practice effect. When combined, the individual benefits of each strategy added together so that using the strategies jointly was more effective than using a single strategy. We advance the complementary view of combining the keyword method and retrieval practice. The empirical findings and theoretical interpretation support combining an effective encoding strategy with retrieval practice to facilitate the learning of educational material with arbitrary associations.