T-51 Soifer Working Memory

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Working Memory: You·re inTrouble Without It!

Overview, Relationships andRelevance

Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D.

Soifer Center for Learning and Child [email protected]

NYBIDA March 18, 2009

Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D. March, 2009




Cognition(Nicolosi, Harryman & Kresheck, 1989; Owens, 1988)

Cognition is a general concept embracing all ofthe various ways of knowing: perceiving,remembering, imagining, conceiving, judging,

reasoning.

Cognitive development also involves methods a

child must use to organize, store and retrieveinformation for problem solving and

generalization.




Executive Functions andSelf-Regulation

Executive Functions

± Inhibiting reactions

± Restraining and

delaying responses ± Attending selectively

± Setting goals

± Planning

± Organizing ± Maintaining and

shifting set

Self-Regulation

± Self-monitoring

± Self-evaluation

± Self-reaction(behavioraladjustment)




Executive Functions and Language

Executive Functions ± Aspects of meta-cognition ± Decision making and planning processes ± Invoked at the outset of a task when faced with a novel

challenge ± Involved in defining the problem which requires the ability to

stop, plan, analyze before taking action Language

± A mediating force for thinking and reasoning ±

Must pass, along with cognition through affective states ± Vygotsky (40 years ago) said, speech and language plays a

central role in the development of self-control, self-direction, problem solving and task performance.




Your memory is going? Which one?

Visual Auditory Episodic Automatic

Procedural Motor Associative Factual Interpretive Recognition Simultaneous Cumulative Categorical Sequential

Short-term

Working

Episodic

Autobiographical

Semantic

Procedural




Working Memory: Without it«huh?

Part of the information processing

system

If you can·t hold onto it, then you can·t

do much with it!

Interaction with the language system




Working Memory is«

the capacity to hold and manipulateinformation in the mind over shortperiods of time

responsible for temporary storage andprocessing of information

a mental workspace

not influenced by prior learning orsocio-economic factors

different than short-term memory




Functions of Working Memory (WM)

Holding an idea in mind while developing, elaborating, clarifying orusing it

Recalling from long-term memory while holding some information inshort-term memory

Holding together in memory the components of a task whilecompleting the task

Keeping together a series of new pieces of information so that they

remain meaningful

Holding a long-term plan in mind while thinking about a short-rangegoal




Examples of the Functions ofWorking Memory

WM Function

Holding an idea in

mind while developing,elaborating,clarifying or using it

Example

Remembering the

beginning of aninstruction whilelistening to the rest;remembering the

ending whileperforming thebeginning.




WM Function

Recalling from LT M while

holding some informationin ST M

Example

Retrieving information to

answer a question whilealso remembering all theparts of the question;remembering where youare going and why you are

going there while alsofiguring out how to getthere.




WM Function

Holding together inmemory the components of a task while

completing the task

Example

There is no room for all thatstuff inside my head. Every

single time I try to write, Iforget what I am doing. If Ithink about one thing likespelling, then I forget allabout something else, likepunctuation; or else, whe I

have to think hard to figureout what I·m going to write,my handwriting gets reallymessy.µ (10 year old)




WM Function

Keeping together a seriesof new pieces of

information so that they remain meaningful.

Example

Sounding out multi-syllabicwords (remembering the

first syllable while workingon subsequent syllablesand then combining all thesyllables to blend theminto a word whilemanipulating the stresspattern); remembering themath procedures andspecific facts whileperforming a multi-stepmath problem




WM Function

Holding a long-term

plan while thinkingabout a short-range need

Example

Rushing through math,

resulting in a messypaper with carelesserrors (child feels itis necessary to work

fast or risk forgettingwhat he or she isdoing)




A WM Task or Challenge!

To multiply 67 x 43 in your head ² requires:

mental storage of two numbers while,

arithmetic rules are retrieved from LTM andapplied, generating

partial solutions that must be stored while

further calculations are made, and then successfully integrated to come to a solution




Are there limits to WM capacity?

In a word, ´Yes!µ Try this - 264 x 369 !!!

Amount that can be held is limited Limit is influenced by what is to be

remembered ± Units ± Meaningfulness ± Background noise

Rehearsal boosts recall




How does WM vary among people?

Personal limits

Fixed capacities

Two ProfilesFemale, 13 Male, 13

Verbal Comprehension 96 130

Perceptual Reasoning 94 135Working Memory 135 86

Processing Speed 147 85




How does WM work?A model summarizing the components of WM (based on Baddeley; Gathercole

and Alloway)




Working Memory and Learning

Measures of WM capacity ² excellentpredictors of academic success

Working memory overload impairslearning

Some difficulties in reading and mathare predictable by poor WM capacity

Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and LanguageImpairment




Working Memory and Attention

WM and paying attention ² a closerelationship

Aspects of attention important to WM ± Focus for a sustained period of time ± Inhibit irrelevant information

± Shift attention between activities




Working Memory in the Classroom:Recognizing WM Failures

Recognizing WM failures ± Incomplete recall ² forgetting instructions ± Losing track in complex tasks ² what·s

next? ± Simultaneous processing and storage

demands ² taking notes ± Task abandonment ² giving up!



Working Memory in the Classroom:Support for Children with Poor WM

Support for children with poor WM ± Simple Verbalizations - make instructions brief/simple ± Simple, isolated procedures - break instructions down

into individual steps ± Repeat instructions frequently; ask students to repeat ± Allow time for rehearsal/processing ± Promote higher level processing ± Use external memory aids ±

Quiet learning environment ± Organized presentations ± Scaffolding ± Activating Relevant Information




Bottom Line: Direct Instruction

and Mnemonic Strategies Direct Instructional Methods

Small group instruction Explicit teaching Awareness of and control of pace Well-sequenced, focused lessons Modeling and shaping of correct responses Reinforcing appropriate responses Systematic procedures for corrective feedback Continuous assessment of performance

Lots of repetition and review of material Emphasis on mastery at each step in learning process

Memory (Mnemonic) Strategies Teach them as part of learning the content Encourage their use





Working memory is your brain·s´post-it· note!



Working Memory Sources and

ResourcesAlloway, T. (2006) How does working memory work in the classroom? Educational Research and Reviews,1(4), 134-139.

Alloway, T. and Gathercole, S. (2006) Working Memory and Neurodevelpmental Disorders. Hove, UK:Psychology Press.

Baddeley, A. (1986) Working Memory. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Dehn, M. ( ) Working Memory and Academic Learning.

Ellis Weismer, S., Evans, J.L., and Hesketh, L.J. (1999) An examination of verbal working memorycapacity in children with specific language impairment. J Speech, Language, Hearing Research, 42,1249-1260.

Engel, P., Santos, F., Gathercole, S. (2008) Are working memory measures free of socioeconomicinfluence? J. Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 51, 1580-1587.

Gathercole, S., Alloway, T. Willis, C. and Adams, A. (2006) Working memory in children with readingdisabilities. J. Memory and Language, 29, 336-360.

Gathercole.S. and Alloway, T. (2008) Working Memory and Learning: A Practical Guide for Teachers.Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.





Resources (con·t)Lyon, G.R. and Krasnegor, N. (Eds.) (1996) Attention, Memory and Executive Function.Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

Mastropieri, M. and Scruggs, T. (1991) Teaching Students Ways to Remember: Strategiesfor LearningMnemonically. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.

Meltzer, L., et.al. (1996) Strategies for Success: Classroom Teaching Techniques forStudents with Learning Problems. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.

Pickering, S. (Ed.) (2006) Working Memory in Education. Burlington, MA: Elsevier

Richards, R. (2003) The Source for Memory and Learning Strategies. East Moline, IL:LinguiSystems.

Schuchardt, K., Maehler, C., Hasselhorn, M. (2008) Working memory deficits in childrenwith specific learning disorders. J. LearningDisabilities, 41, 6, 514-523.





Resources (con·t)Swanson, H., Howard, C., and Saez, L. (2007) Readingcomprehension and working memory in children withlearning disabilities in reading, in Cain, K. AndOakhill, J. Children·s Comprehension Problems in

Oral and Written Language. NY: Guilford Press,2007.

Vance, M. (2008) Short-term memory in childrenwith developmental language disorders. In

Norbury, C., Tomblin, J.B., and Bishop, D. (E

ds.)Understanding Developmental Language Disorders:From Theory to Practice. New York, NY:Psychology Press.


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