Working Memory

• Literacy
• Special Education

Working Memory

Log on to Lessonup.app and type in the code to join the lesson. 

We will cover ...

• What working memory is and working memory difficulties
• How  long-term memory can bolster working memory 
• Strategies to boost working memory performance 

How do you remember new information?

People with working memory difficulties can be more susceptible to interference or distraction at the encoding stage and incorrect memory traces can be formed. 

Many people with workng memory difficulties struggle to automatise skills. This can manifest as problems with retrieval of known information from the long-term memory. 

Working memory is the ability to hold information in the mind and manipulate it in some way. We use it for everyday life, decision making, problem solving and when learning anything new. 

Many people with specific learning difficulties also have working memory difficulties. Their working memory capacity can be more limited than people of the same age. 

Long-term memory tends to be unimpaired in people with specific learning difficulties and can be used to improve working memory capacity and performance. 

wordwall.net

Verbal working memory 

Visual working memory

Facts about working memory

Comparing personal perceptions with research via anonymous polls

How long does information last in the working memory?

6-12 seconds

6-12 minutes

Which is a greater predictor of academic success?

Working memory

Ability (IQ)

Working memory peaks at age....

10

15

25

How many units of information can the average adult hold in the working memory?

4-7

8-11

1. Using long-term memory 

4 types of long term memory:

• Episodic memory 
• Autobiographical memory 
• Semantic memory 
• Procedural memory 

Activity 

In groups,  match the type of long-term memory to its description.

Which are you strongest in? 

2. Self-voice

• A very effective tool to learn new information  is self voice 
• Listening to your own voice increases brain activity in the inferior frontal brain regions
• Strengthens verbalisation
• Self voice – record yourself on your phone saying facts or explaining how to do something. 
• Voice memos
• Videos

Forgetting curve

3. Spaced practice

4. Retrieval practice

Online flashcards such as Quizlet

A key finding from How People Learn (2000) National Research Council USA. To develop confidence in an area of inquiry, students must:

• have a deep foundation of factual knowledge
• Understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework and
• organise knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application

We covered...

• What working memory is and working memory difficulties
• How  long-term memory can bolster working memory 
• Strategies to boost working memory performance