What Is Working Memory and Why Does It Matter? - Página 3

Alloway emphasizes that students always be compared with peers to know what is typical for a given age group. That's because working memory develops over time. The average 5-year-old, she says, can hold and process one or two pieces of information. But a 10-year-old can do this with three and a 14-year-old with four.⁶ A kindergarten teacher recently told Alloway, "Now it makes sense why they don't listen to me because I always give them about four instructions at a time!"

Consider formal testing. A school psychologist can test for working memory with tests such as the Working Memory Index in the WISC. Unfortunately many with poor working memory go undiagnosed. That's because they learn to compensate, says Swanson. "Their knowledge base or basic skills acquired in specific academic domains, such as reading or math, helps them deal with any working memory demands related to a particular task."

Although diagnosis can help you understand what underlies any difficulties, Swanson cautions to find assessments that actually test working memory and not just short-term memory. "The test has to involve interpreting information as it is coming in." He recommends two:

• The Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA), a PC-based assessment published by Pearson
• The Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML-2), published by PRO-ED

Assess both types of working memory. From an educational perspective, it is important to know the difference between them because children with different learning needs may have very different working memory profiles, says Alloway.

"A student with a reading disorder can have a weakness in auditory working memory but relative strengths in visual spatial working memory," says Alloway. "But another student with dyspraxia may have deficits across the board but particularly with visual spatial working memory."

Also be aware that auditory working memory usually affects learning more so than visual-spatial working memory, says Alloway. That's because, with so much information relayed verbally in school, it's harder for a student to easily find ways to compensate.

Now that you understand the role of working memory, perhaps it's time to seek help for your child. Without intervention that specifically addresses this weakness, students with poor working memory won't catch up over time, says Alloway. Fortunately, there are more ways than ever to help.

Free online games that practice memory-building skills: Memory Games by Lumosity The Original Memory Gym Easysurf Memory Games

Additional Resources

• A workout for working memory (American Psychological Association)
• Don't Forget: Memory Tips for ADHD Students [and those with LD]
• Working Memory Capacity and the Wandering Mind
• Improving Working Memory: Supporting Students' Learning by Tracy Packiam Alloway
• The Learning Brain: Memory and Brain Development in Children

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Annie Stuart is a freelance writer and editor with nearly 25 years of experience. She specializes in consumer health, parenting, and learning disabilities, among other areas.

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1 UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience: "Executive Functions." http://www.icn.ucl.ac.uk/executive_functions/
2 Alloway, T. Improving Working Memory: Supporting Students' Learning, Sage Publications, 2010. http://www.amazon.com/Improving-Working-Memory-Supporting-Students/dp/1849207488/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334873180&sr=8-1
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Alloway, T. et al. Child Development, 2009; 80: 606-621.
6 Alloway, T. Improving Working Memory: Supporting Students' Learning, Sage Publications, 2010.