Implicit Cognition and Spelling Development

Intuitively it may seem that spelling involves explicit cognitive processes. However, a great deal of knowledge used during spelling is implicit, that is, we are not necessarily aware of the appropriate spelling convention. The goal of this paper is to address how existing theories of implicit cognition may contribute to the understanding of spelling development. The paper includes a review of the adult literature on implicit memory and implicit learning and how this literature may be applied to spelling development. Karmiloff-Smith's (1986, 1992, 1994) multilevel model of representational redescription presents a framework from which to investigate the interrelation of implicit and explicit knowledge and how knowledge representation changes over time. Karmiloff-Smith's model provides insight into observations of children's spelling and can be used as a framework to better understand the development of children's spellings.