Action-Based Encoding Improves Instruction Following in Children and Adolescents

Encoding and recalling spoken instructions play a key role in successful learning in the classroom. Previous research in adults suggests that, relative to simple verbal rehearsal, three forms of action-based encoding (i.e., motor imagery, action observation, or self-enactment) facilitate instruction recall to a similar extent. This study aimed to examine whether motor imagery, action observation, and self-enactment could improve memory for instructions in children and adolescents, and to compare the effectiveness of these strategies. In Experiment 1, children aged 8 and 9 years listened to instructional sequences that varied in length (2, 3 and 4 actions) while using one of the encoding techniques (i.e., motor imagery, action observation, self-enactment, or verbal rehearsal), followed by oral repetition or enacted recall. In Experiment 2, adolescents between age 12 and 14 were tested using a similar design except that the instructions were all four-action sequences. In Experiment 1, for both verbal and enacted recall, children’s memory performance in each of the three action-based encoding conditions was superior to the rehearsal condition, although the benefit from motor imagery was relatively smaller. In Experiment 2, adolescents displayed similar patterns as children, except that motor imagery yielded a stronger and more reliable advantage in this age group. The current findings suggest that, for both children and adolescents, encoding spoken instructions by imagining, observing, or performing the actions yields comparable mnemonic advantages, and thus provides practical ways for supporting and enhancing working memory in classroom environments.