Using Order Analytic Instructional Hierarchies of Mnemonics to Facilitate Learning Chinese and Japanese Kanji Characters

Abstract The effects of applying an order-analytical, multidimensional scaling method for determining hierarchies among a list of Chinese and Japanese kanji characters and mnemonics were explored. The authors used those hierarchies to design a computer-assisted, instructional program for learning the characters. The participants were presented a series of kanji characters in a hierarchical or random order, with and without mnemonics. Recall and recognition tests were administered immediately after the presentation and 48 hr later. Characters that were arranged in a hierarchical sequence or those presented with mnemonics were better learned and remembered than those that were presented in a random order or without mnemonics. The interaction of sequence and mnemonics, however, did not yield significant effects for learning. The results suggest that techniques such as order analysis that scale and organize variables according to their variance contribution and dominance can be useful for designing effective ...