ABSTRACT
Serial position effects occur when people try to recall items from a list or serial presentation. In such cases, items at the beginning and end are better recalled than the items in the middle. For example, when learning lists of things such as the alphabet, math tables, US presidents, or a long poem or song, the information at the beginning and end are more easily recalled than the information in the middle. The practical implications for teachers are clear: New and essential information should be presented at the beginning of instructional sessions, reinforced at the end of instructional sessions, with activities to explore and practice sandwiched in between. When learning information in a serial form, items tend to be recalled in the same serial order, with each item in the sequence acting as a memory cue for the next. Serial position effects are observed across all ages, cultures, and even in other primates such as chimpanzees.
