Literature review

Working Memory

Students : Tamara Cartes D.

Victor Machuca C.

Teacher: Camila Polanco O.

Concepción, december 05, 2018.

I- Introduction
There has been considerable research regarding theoretical aspects that have attempted to explain
how working memory (WM) affects learning. However, far less research has been carried out
regarding strategies that can help teacher to identify children with working memory disabilities.
Because of a lack of instruction, which has not been given as part of their training, teachers do not
know how to address these problems. Therefore, when facing children with working memory
disabilities, teachers should be able to address children with classroom behaviour characteristic of
working memory disabilities. It is thought to be considerable evidence that the WM is directly
linked to academic success. Therefore, in this literature review, we will analyze what it has been
said about the working memory, and its implications for learning. We will also explore how
working memory works, and why it is important to encourage children with poor working
memory. Having analyze the working memory and the processes that operate in coordination with
it, some strategies that can be used to overcome working memory problems will be mentioned in
the final section of this research.

II- What is the working memory?

Cokfrot (2015) defines working memory as a complex cognitive system which consist of a central
executive with two subsystems: The phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad. The first
component stores verbal information in the brain and the second one the spatial information,
which is then used to retain auditory information and process it into meaningful sounds, words and
sentences. Based on Baddeley’s working memory model, the author, defines these processes as
crucial to understand, interpret and integrate information from the environment. Sedek et al.,
(2016) also defines the working memory taking into consideration Baddeley’s model. In fact, the
authors considered it as one of the most influential models of working memory. Both authors
compared Baddeley’s model and others considering that working memory is directly related with
executive functions. The executive functions (Such as shifting, inhibiting and updating) are
closely related to a variety of multiple WM tasks, which are strong predictors of school
performance in children.

III- Why is working memory important?

“Understanding how working memory operates and can be enhanced has relevance for all aspects
in our lives, and particularly for how children learn” (Cokfrot, 2015, p.2). Because it is directly
linked with performance, children with poor working memory will lose crucial information needed
to improve the acquisition of other skills during the school years if the WM is not trained. It is
therefore, critical to understand how working memory operates, and how teachers can overcome
these problems. Because of the importance of working memory Alloway (2013) and Cokfrot
(2015) also defined working memory as a strong predictor of academic achievement, as was
previously mentioned. In fact, there are considerable studies which links performance on working
memory tasks to vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension and mathematics. Both authors
compare and analyze how poor performance on working memory tasks can have a considerable
impact regarding the limitations that working memory can produce in children.
Cokfrot (2015) analyzed working memory problems in terms of children with special educational
needs. She explained that working memory disabilities are more likely to appear in children with
neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autistic
spectrum disorder (ASD), dyspraxia, dyscalculia, down syndrome, prematurity, dyslexia, foetal
alcohol disorders, specific language impairment, fragile X syndrome, developmental coordination
disorder and schizophrenia. Similarly, Redick et al. (2015) stated that working memory and
attention difficulties are strongly related. The authors explained that children with learning
disabilities have also been observed to have working memory limitations, as stated by Cowen
(2001) these limitations are mainly in the human capacity to store and process information. In the
classroom, students usually rely on working memory to perform different types of activities and
tasks. It is therefore, essential to find strategies that help students increase their working memory
capacities, and performance on other skills that are also related with working memory.

IV- How can we diagnose and support the working memory

Working memory also known as “the system responsible for storage of information over short
periods of time, whereby the information is used to fulfill some goal-directed activity” (Baddeley,
2012, p. 618). It is necessary for the processes that involves reading comprehension, arithmetic
problems, and computational skills. There is no activity in a classroom in which Working Memory
(WM) does not intervene; hence, WM tests are critical for teachers to identify working memory
disabilities in children.
One way to analyze working memory performance on children is by using The Working Memory
Rating Scale (WMRS). Alloway et al., (2009) explained how the instrument works in one of their
studies in which they investigated the benefits of the instrument. The WMRS is used to identify
children at risk of having learning disabilities related with working memory. It is composed of 20
descriptions of common behaviors children with working memory experiment, and does not
require any additional training (in psychometric assessment) to be able to implement it.
Nowadays it is thought that teachers fail to identify students with poor working memory.
However, the WMRS is thought to be a good instrument which can help teachers to familiarize
with classroom difficulties. When applying the WMRS Teachers are asked to rate how typical the
behavior is present in children inside the classroom, using a four- point scale ranging from (0) not
typical at all to (1) occasionally to (2) fairly typical to (3) very typical. The author analyzed the
instrument indicating in their conclusion that it is very useful to facilitate the early detention and
treatment of working memory difficulties in children.
When doing the analysis of this study, the authors explained that this instrument was one of the
most reliable regarding other instruments that have been implemented to test working memory
abilities. Alloway et al., (2009) mentioned the Conners’ teacher rating scale (CTRS) and the
behavioral rating inventory of executive functions (BRIEF) which has also play an important role
in identifying working memory disabilities. Though they are reliable, there are some
characteristics of this instruments that fail to identify classroom behaviors.

V- Supporting Working Memory Through Strategies

Because of the numbers of elements that people need to cover within a period of time, working
memory can easily be overloaded. An example of this would be the amount of tasks Children in
schools need to approach during classes. Thus, if working memory is overload, the input children
are receiving would not enter to the long-term memory. Therefore, if working memory is
overload, the messages that people might receive would not enter effectively. Teachers have to be
experts within the borders of working memory. Otherwise, students will face an overload of
information in working memory, being this one the main entry for long-term memory.
Consequently, If working memory is overloaded, nothing will enter in the long-term memory.
According to Alloway & Copello (2013) there are three main strategies to support working
memory in a daily routine.

1. Detect working memory failures. The teacher's roles at first is to focus on those
students who are disengaged from the activities in the classroom, or have relationship
 problems with their peers. Another key point is identify how these students are reacting to
frustration when they struggle with complex activities or test.

2. Break down information. Getting to know the students is of vital importance to do not
overload the memory capacity of a student. Hence, dividing the activities in chunks will
maintain the student’s focus on the task. Here, privileging the quality instead of quantity is
the key point for a student to success.

3. Build long-term knowledge. Automaticity of knowledge will help students to decrease

their focus on details to not overload their memory capacity, therefore, keep their attention
on task.

However, not all strategies can assess working memory. Swanger (2013) attempted to determine
whether the use the computerized program called Jungle Memory® could improve students
ability in working memory. Her findings concluded that students did not show advantages or
improvements regarding working memory abilities using this type of program, therefore, her
recommendations are to focus all efforts to revolutionize education by humanizing it rather than
investing in advertisements that clearly do not meet student’s needs.

However, in case of students with special need, Dahlin (2010) exposes how working memory can
be enhanced by a cognitive computerized program called Robomemo that would increase their
reading comprehension development. For instance, it is though that Working Memory and
children’s word reading and reading comprehension are closely related. The study consisted of
57 Swedish children with special need divided into two groups. First, 42 of them were the
treatment group and the other 15 the control group. It had a duration of 5 weeks, where the
treatment control group were trained at school with the computerized program Robomemo to test
whether the working memory improved during that period; children were accompanied by one of
their parents to provide support to the child. The program consisted of visuo-spatial and verbal
working memory task and fixed number of trials to be completed by children each day. The results
shown an enhancement in reading comprehension in children of the treatment control. Thus, it can
be seen that these improvements were not only reached thanks by the amount of weeks and hours
children were exposed to, but also to the reinforcement of parents. Nonetheless, it is important to
notice that children with ADHD performed worse in task such as visuo-spatial, since it requires
the attention these children lack.
 VI- Conclusion

In conclusion, the term working memory has its foundation on the idea that complex
thought processes depend on a simple system that cooperates across a variety of situations not
only in classrooms but also in daily routines. For example, mathematics exercises, arithmetic,
multiplication, giving directions to others are situations where working memory is challenging.
Working Memory is a concept that is being widely studied by many authors as we have seen
through this report; where existing agreement and disagreements about what is the best method to
assess working memory is still on the onset. Even though working memory is a broad concept to
study, it depends on every researcher where he or she will be focusing on. Advantages in
technology have been developed to better understand the function of a structure as complex as the
cortex. Nevertheless, we must acknowledge the efforts that each people has in contributing to
building computerized programs, such as Jungle Memory® and Robomemo in giving answers to
poor cognitive skills. Notwithstanding, teachers are those in charge to improve and test new
techniques to comprehend, create strategies and know each student personally. Consequently,
teachers will be able to reduce the gap between when it is considered a working memory deficit
or a learning disability. Though this research report has shown interventions done using
computerized programs conducted in school and laboratories regarding the importance of working
memory, it would be more precisely and effective if these working memories abilities are tested in
the real world context for further research in a less controlled environment.

References

Alloway, T. P., & Copello, E. (2013). Working memory: The what, the why, and the how.
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 30(2), 105-118. doi:
10.1017/edp.2013.2

Baddeley, A. (2012). Working memory: theories, models, and controversies. Annual review
of psychology, (63), 1-29. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100422.
Cockcroft, K. (2015). The role of working memory in childhood education: Five questions
and answers. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 5(1), 01-20.

Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: a reconsideration of mental

storage capacity. The Behavioral and brain sciences, 24(1), 87-114; discussion 114-
85

Gonzalez‐Barrero, A. M., & Nadig, A. S. (2017). Can Bilingualism Mitigate Set‐Shifting

Difficulties in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders?. Child development.

Redick, T. S., Shipstead, Z., Wiemers, E. A., Melby-Lervåg, M., & Hulme, C. (2015).
What’s working in working memory training? An educational perspective.
Educational Psychology Review, 27(4), 617-633. doi: 10.1007/s10648-015-9314-6

Sedek, G., Krejtz, I., Rydzewska, K., Kaczan, R., & Rycielski, P. (2016). Three functional
aspects of working memory as strong predictors of early school achievements: The
review and illustrative evidence. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 47(1), 103-111. doi:
10.1515/ppb.2016.0011

Swanger, M. M. (2013). Using a Computerized Program to Improve Working Memory in

Intermediate School Students( Doctoral dissertation) Ashland University, Ohio.