Read these sentences and decide if they are true or false:
1. Bananas live in water: True or False
2. Flowers smell nice: True or False
3. Dogs have four legs: True or False
Now, without looking at those sentences, can you remember the last word in each sentence in the correct order? If you were able to remember them, congratulate yourself. Your working memory is like an average 10 year old. This test is an example of the Listening Recall test from the Automated Working Memory Assessment. It measures verbal (auditory) working memory.
Brain imaging has confirmed that when we perform working memory tests, like the one above, there is electrical activity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex. We use different parts of the brain to remember verbal and visual-spatial information. Scientists suggest that the lower area of the prefrontal cortex (ventrolateral) is responsible for verbal working memory, while the higher area (dorsolateral) is linked to spatial working memory. These two areas are also linked to the different processes in performing a working memory task: the ventrolateral areas are engaged with keeping information active and the dorsolateral areas are involved in processing or managing information. Other areas of the brain are also activated during working memory tasks. When we engage in visual-spatial tasks, parts of the right-hemisphere and the hippocampus are also activated. In verbal working memory tasks, there is activation in the left-hemisphere, particularly in the ‘language centers’ such as Broca’s area. What is the take home message? Protect your head, you will need it for the rest of your life!
Adapted from Improing Working Memory: Supporting Students’ Learning (Sage Publication, 2010)
As a parent of a 10 year old who is struggling in school, even with an Individualized Education Program, what hope is there to catch up our child? He’s realizing that he is not able, and is now suffering with self-confidence. In the US this is not well known, what tools are available?
-Cheryl, AZ
The term ‘working memory’ refers to the capacity to store and manipulate information for brief periods of time. It provides a mental workspace that is used in many important activities in learning. Working memory is a pure measure of a child’s learning potential. As it is not influenced by the child’s prior experiences such as pre-school education, or their socio-economic background, it tells us about a child’s capacity to learn. In contrast, school-based assessments or even IQ tests measure knowledge that the child has already learned.
Behaviors in the classroom characteristic of children with working memory impairments include: failing to obey instructions, not listening, being in a world of his own, and not being able to copy sentences from the board. It is very common that students with poor working memory begin to lose their confidence. They feel unmotivated as every time they try, they can’t remember what they are supposed to do.
There are a few options available to you.
1. The first option is to receive a professional psychological report on your child’s working memory profile, ways in which it will impact their learning, and suggested strategies that the classroom teacher can use, as well as additional activities that you can use at home. This professional report will also take into account any other psychological assessments to provide you with a complete picture of your child’s cognitive skills and the link to working memory. This is suitable for 5 to 16 year olds. More details are available here, click on Expert Consultation. This is an online assessment and has been used by parents in the USA and the UK, as well as around the world. Feedback from other parents is available HERE.
3. The next option is a cognitive training program that we are using in schools across the UK, USA, and Australia. In a recent scientific study, JungleMemory© was found to improve not only working memory but IQ, Reading, and Math. The students who used the program increased their grades from a C to a B, and from a B to an A in just 8 weeks. This is very exciting, as other programs have not demonstrated such an improvement. This is suitable for 6 to 16 year olds and is endorsed by the Psychological Corporation.
For more information, go to the homepage and click on each bullet point. You can also try a free demo and watch a short video presentation HERE.
Wow! I am so excited about your interest in working memory. I’d like to thank all those who participated in my Webinar on Working Memory, hosted by Pearson. We had delegates attending from all around the world.
Yesterday’s webinar was the largest ever hosted by Pearson, and the overwhelming numbers show that word is getting out! People are starting to realize that working memory really is the new IQ.
Once in generation a discovery comes along that dramatically alters our understanding of the human mind. Working memory is starting change what we thought we knew about intelligence, who is smart and who needs help. It is the great equaliser that levels the playing field between the most well-off students and the poorest. Because of working memory, students from all backgrounds can have a chance to succeed.
Just in case you didn’t attend the webinar, you may like to know that working memory is our brain’s post-it note. We use those little yellow slips of paper not only to jot down important information, but also to work with it, like when we use them to write down and cross out a to-do list. In the same way, working memory allows us to make mental scribbles of information we need to remember and think about.
Working memory is the key to unlock success
Think about it. Those who are better at remembering and working with new information do better in life. They tend to get better grades and have higher paying jobs because they are better suited to adapt to the challenges before them. Able to make clearer choices about what they eat they are healthier. Able to make better decisions under stress they are able to overcome their anger. Able to work through stress at work instead of letting it overwhelm them.
Working memory is also the foundation for learning at school: in complex subjects such as reading comprehension, arithmetic, and word problems to simple tasks like copying from the board and navigating around school.
Now that educators have the key, how do we unlock success for all students? Stay tuned to find out.
If you have a question that wasn’t answered during the webinar, leave me a comment or send me an email.
I see some students in my class who are daydreaming, looking out the window, just not really paying attention to what I am saying. How can I tell whether they have poor working memory , or are just unmotivated?
Mary, Ohio
Currently, working memory is not identified as a problem in the classroom, despite leading to learning difficulties. There are very clear signs that a student will show in a classroom if they have poor working memory. Some of them include:
- Failing to follow instructions
- Raising their hand to answer a question but forgetting what they wanted to say
- Sitting quietly at their desk but not doing the assignment because they can’t remember what it is
- Difficulty in writing tasks, for example, writing the same letter twice or missing out words
The main difference between an unmotivated student and one with poor working memory is that the student with poor working memory struggles in all areas of learning. They have a hard time coping in the classroom with even simple tasks because their working memory is not ‘big’ enough to keep in all the information. In contrast, the unmotivated student can do well on some days when they try hard. This means that their working memory is good but sometimes they don’t want to put out the effort.
If you are concerned that a student may have poor working memory, click here to find more on testing working memory.
