Longitudinal relations between self-derivation and semantic knowledge growth

Productive memory processes, wherein learners move beyond directly taught information to generate new knowledge, are considered a means to knowledge base expansion. One such productive process is self-derivation through memory integration, which has been shown to relate concurrently to both children's and adults' performance on tests of semantic knowledge. Yet the extent to which self-derivation is a means of support for accumulation of new knowledge over time is not yet known. In the current study, to address this question, we examined longitudinal relations between self-derivation and knowledge in a sample of 148 8- to 12-year-old children (51 % female, 65 % White, 7 % Hispanic descent) in the Southeastern United States. To do so, we provided tests of self-derivation, memory for directly taught facts, and knowledge at two waves of data collection, approximately 1 year apart. We found significant relations between self-derivation and measures of knowledge across 1 year's time, while accounting for age and memory for directly taught information. This research provides novel insight to the cognitive mechanisms that underlie successful semantic knowledge base expansion.