WORKING MEMORY AND HOW IT INFLUENCES LEARNING Judi Erskine and Paula King

What is Working Memory?  The ability to hold information and mentally manipulate that information over a short period of time  The mind’s “post-it note”  Not the same as short term memory as you are trying to remember details while completing a task

When do we use Working Memory?  When we remember a PIN #, phone #, web address while we look for our pen  Following spoken directions to a destination while driving  Remembering an unfamiliar foreign name before having to introduce them to another person

Are there limits to Working Memory?  Distractions or interruptions cause you to lose track of thoughts  Trying to hold too much information  Engaging in a demanding task ONCE INFORMATION HAS BEEN LOST FROM WORKING MEMORY IT IS GONE FOR GOOD

Working Memory vs. I.Q.  Dr. Tracy Alloway followed a group of students from age 5 to age 11  More boys than girls have poor working memory  she found that WM of a 5 year old was a good predictor of how that child would perform academically as an 11 year old and beyond  The I.Q. of the child made no difference whether they were gifted, LD, ADHD etc…

WISC-IV  The WMI section of the WISC-IV consists of two parts: digit span and letter/number sequence  Digit span tests the student’s ability to repeat a sequence of numbers forward and backward after receiving them orally  Letter/number sequence tests the student’s ability to reorganize and repeat a sequence of letters and numbers in correct alphabetical and numerical order

“Average Working Memory”  How many items can be remembered?  Average 5 year old-1 item  7 year old-2 items  10 year old-3 items  14 year old-4 items  Average 25 year old can remember about 5 items

Does Working Memory vary between people?  Increases with age  However, children with poor working memory never catch up with their peers

Working Memory “Overload”  Failure to follow instructions  Difficulty in completing tasks that combine storage and demanding mental processing  Problems in keeping track of their progress in complex tasks  These frequent task failures impair learning in key academic domains

Students with Poor Working Memory  Are well-adjusted socially but reserved in group activities, rarely volunteer  Forget part or all instructions for a task  “daydreamers”  Unmotivated, disengage from learning as they get older (“I’m going to fail anyway so why try”)  Are unable to complete assignments  Make poor progress, especially in reading and math  Approximately 70% of students with Learning Differences have very low working memory scores  98% of students with low working memory have low standardized test scores in reading and math * Poor working memory is noted on Learning Profiles in PowerSchool.

Learning Pyramid

How can you help your students?  Repeat information when possible  Break down tasks into smaller components For example: -( strongly encourage students to review 5 vocabulary words at a time) -Academic students might need to be assigned 5 words per night -Breaking down larger assignments/projects into parts

More suggestions  Put less information on each power point slide  Make font larger and use more space between items on tests and study guides(reformatting tests)  Have them teach you the material  Thorough explanation of unfamiliar words and terms

What can be done to increase Working Memory?   Brain Training is a new area of research to “grow” the brain which uses interactive games to address certain areas of the brain.