159 research outputs found
Mathematical skills and working memory profile of children with borderline intellectual functioning
No full textBorderline intellectual functioning is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by an intelligence quotient (IQ) in the range of 70-85. The present study aimed to investigate the mathematical abilities and the working memory of students with borderline intellectual functioning (BIF). The sample group included 10 year-old students with BIF ( n = 85) and with average non-verbal IQ ( n = 45). The children were assessed in non-verbal intelligence, numerical ability and working memory. Our results showed an impairment of mathematical skills, especially in the operation tasks, and working memory in children with BIF, compared to typically developing peers. Generally, their skills seemed to be consistent with intelligence scores (WOND and AWMA scores ≥ 70). In some cases, children with BIF could have mathematical difficulties (WOND < 70). In general, they showed visuospatial short-term memory and central executive subsystem more damaged than non-verbal intelligence while the verbal short-term memory was similar to the IQ
Working memory in children with developmental disorders
No full textThe aim of the present study was to directly compare working memory skills across students with different developmental disorders to investigate whether the uniqueness of their diagnosis would impact memory skills. The authors report findings confirming differential memory profiles on the basis of the following developmental disorders: Specific Language Impairment, Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Asperger syndrome(AS). Specifically, language impairments were associated with selective deficits in verbal short-term and working memory, whereas motor impairments (DCD) were associated with selective deficits in visuospatial short-term and working memory. Children with attention problems were impaired in working memory in both verbal and visuospatial domains, whereas the children with AS had deficits in verbal short-term memory but not in any other memory component. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of support for learning
Working memory: Is it the new IQ?
No full textWorking memory, our ability to process and remember information, is linked to a range of cognitive activities from reasoning tasks to verbal comprehension. There is also extensive evidence of the relationship between working memory and learning outcomes. However, some researchers suggest that working memory is simply a proxy for IQ and does not make a unique contribution to learning outcomes. Here we show that children's working memory skills at 5 years of age was the best predictor of reading, spelling, and math outcomes six years later. IQ, in contrast, accounted for a smaller portion of unique variance to reading and math skills, and was not a significant predictor of spelling performance. Our results demonstrate that working memory is not a proxy for IQ, but rather represents a dissociable cognitive skill with unique links to learning outcomes. Critically, we find that working memory at the start of formal education is a more powerful predictor of subsequent academic success than IQ. This result has important implications for education, particularly with respect to developing intervention and training. It appears that we should target our efforts in developing working memory skills in order to see gains in learning
How does working memory work in the classroom?
No full textWorking memory plays a key role in supporting children’s learning over the school years, and beyond this into adulthood. It is proposed here that working memory is crucially required to store information while other material is being mentally manipulated during the classroom learning activities that form the foundations for the acquisition of complex skills and knowledge. A child with a poor working memory capacity will struggle and often fail in such activities, disrupting and delaying learning. The aim of this review is to present the case that working memory makes a vital contribution to classroom learning. Following a brief introduction to working memory and its assessment, links between working memory skills and scholastic progress is reviewed and illustrated. Next, the classroom behaviour of children with very poor working memory functions, and in particular their characteristic failures in learning activities, is described. Finally, the implications of this research for classroom practice is considered; this includes an intervention programme designed to improve learning outcomes for children with poor working memory function that is based on the theoretical analysis of working memory and learning advanced here
Working Memory, but Not IQ, Predicts Subsequent Learning in Children with Learning Difficulties
No full textThe purpose of the present study was to compare the predictive power of working memory and IQ in children identified as having learning difficulties. The term ‘working memory’ refers to the capacity to store and manipulate information in mind for brief periods of time. Working memory capacity is strongly related to learning abilities and academic progress, predicting current and subsequent scholastic attainments of children across the school years in both literacy and numeracy. Children aged between 7 and 11 years were tested at Time 1 on measures of working memory, IQ, and learning. They were then retested two years later on the learning measures. The findings indicated that working memory capacity and domain-specific knowledge at Time 1, but not IQ, were significant predictors of learning at Time 2. The implications for screening and intervention are discussed
Working memory, reading, and mathematical skills in children with developmental coordination disorder
No full textThe aim of the present study was investigate the relationship between working memory and reading and mathematical skills in 55 children diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The Wndings indicate a pervasive memory deWcit in all memory measures. In particular, deWcits observed in visuospatial short-term and working memory tasks were signiWcantly worse than in the verbal short-term memory ones. On the basis of these deWcits, the sample was divided into high and low visuospatial memory ability groups. The low visuospatial memory group performed signiWcantly worse on the attainment measures compared to the high visuospatial memory group, even when the contribution of IQ was taken into account. When the sample was divided into high and low verbal working memory ability groups, verbal working memory skills made a unique contribution to attainment only when verbal IQ was taken into account, but not when performance IQ was statistically controlled. It is possible that the processing demands of the working memory tasks together with the active motor component reXected in the visuospatial memory tasks and performance IQ subtest both play a crucial role in learning in children with DCD
Investigating the roles of phonological and semantic memory in sentence recall
No full textThe mechanisms underlying short-term sentence recall have been the subject of recent investigations. While both semantic and phonological information have been found to play a role in sentence recall, this has been established using different paradigms in previous research. As a result, it is not clear whether the contributions of semantic and phonological information are equivalent subject only to specific experimental conditions. The present study used a common paradigm with equally plausible lures to systematically compare the roles of semantic and phonological information in short-term sentence recall. The lure intrusion paradigm was used with three different lures that were all equally plausible in the context of the sentence: semantic, onset, and rhyme. Further, no contextual cues were provided in the sentence to bias the participant. The findings indicate that there were significantly more semantic and onset intrusions compared to rhyme intrusions. This is interpreted in light of models incorporating lexical information during sentence production
Seeing ahead: Experiences and language in spatial perspective
No full textSpatial perspective can be directed by various reference frames, as well as by the direction of motion. In the present study, we explored how ambiguity in spatial tasks can be resolved. Participants were presented with virtual reality environments in order to stimulate a spatial reference frame based on motion. They interacted with an ego-moving spatial system in Experiment 1 and an object-moving spatial system in Experiment 2. While interacting with the virtual environment, the participants were presented with either a question representing a motion system different from that of the virtual environment or a nonspatial question relating to physical features of the virtual environment. They then performed the target task: assign the label front in an ambiguous spatial task. The findings indicate that the disambiguation of spatial terms can be influenced by embodied experiences, as represented by the virtual environment, as well as by linguistic context
Teachers' perceptions of classroom behaviour and working memory
No full textWorking memory, ability to remember and manipulate information, is crucial to academic attainment. The aim of the present study was to understand teachers' perception of working memory and how it impacts on classroom behavior. A semi-structured interview was used to explore teachers' ability to define working memory, identify these difficulties in the classroom, and effectively support struggling students. Teachers were then asked to identify students in their classroom whom they felt exhibited troublesome behavior. The data indicated that teacher awareness of working memory was quite low, with the majority of them only able to correctly identify one or two signs of working memory failure and effective strategies to support it in the classroom. The study also found that students the teachers consider as troublesome showed signs of working memory failure. The practical implications for screening and supporting students who exhibit troublesome behaviour in the classroom are discussed
Assessing working memory in Spanish-speaking children: Automated Working Memory Assessment battery adaptation
No full textThe Automated Working Memory Assessment battery was designed to assess verbal and visuospatial passive and active working memory processing in children and adolescents. The aim of this paper is to present the adaptation and validation of the AWMA battery to Argentinean Spanish-speaking children aged 6 to 11. years. Verbal subtests were adapted and pilot tested on a small sample (n=26). A validation study was conducted including 6-, 8- and 11-year-old children (n=210). All subtests presented an increase in difficulty as the number of to-be-remembered items raised, and showed high Cronbach's α values. Regarding validity, all subtests had medium to high and significant correlations among them, and with two external measures of working memory (Picture Span and Word Order) and an executive function task (Tower of London); correlations with Block Design were low and non-significant. We conclude that the adapted AWMA can be considered a valid and reliable battery of working memory in Argentinean Spanish-speaking children.Fil: Injoque Ricle, Irene. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; ArgentinaFil: Calero, Alejandra Daniela. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Alloway, Tracy P.. University of Stirling; Reino UnidoFil: Burin, Debora Ines. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin
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