Through the lens of Peter Ornstein’s work, this chapter traces the history of research on the development of deliberate memory. With particular emphasis on two mnemonic strategies, rehearsal and organization, we describe the methodological tools and research designs that have provided insight into the universal and individual patterns of development. Considerations are given to contextual factors, such as task conditions and instructions, types of materials to be remembered, and capacity demands, as well as to the individual factors, such as knowledge base, metamemory, age, and experience that influence the likelihood that a child will use strategies effectively in the service of memory. We conclude with an overview of the ways in which longitudinal research has provided greater insight into how intentional memory develops.

In a 2001 paper published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, Ornstein and Haden asserted that despite considerable progress in understanding age-related differences in memory performance, research on children’s memory offered too few insights into the processes that drive the development of skilled remembering. Essentially, the argument was that the focus of research was more on memory development than the development of memory. This chapter offers an update as to whether and to what extent critical gaps identified by Ornstein and Haden (2001a) remain.