Working memory gives you the ability to hold onto new information without losing track of what you are doing.
Students are using their working memory when:
- Following lengthy instructions
- Decoding words to read
- Copying sentences when writing
- Performing simple (or complex) mental maths sums
- Participating in class discussions
- Organizing self for task or activity (predicting what will be needed)
Working memory difficulties can lead to gaps in knowledge, as there is a breakdown between the processing of information from short to long term memory.
A student may have challenges with working memory if they:
- Have difficulty solving simple problems
- Have difficulty following two or more step instructions
- Have difficulty copying sentences from the board
- Skip letters or words when reading or writing
- Academic performance is not consistent. Will appear to remember something one day and then the next day may have forgotten
- Have difficulty decoding words, struggle with blends. This is because they’re unable to hold the sound of one letter in their mind so that they can blend the sound with the other letter
- Have difficulty paraphrasing spoken information
- Lose their place when attempting to answer questions and struggle to remember what to say when it is their turn to talk
Strategies to support students who have challenges with their working memory:
- Use simple language, only say what is necessary
- Reduce background noise and distractions
- Be goal specific, working on one area of assessment/task rather than multiple e.g. if a student is required to complete a spelling test/ write a recount. Focus on content as opposed to letter formation. Have visual displays of appropriate letter formation available for a student to visually reference. This way they are able to focus on content and not on trying to remember how to form their letters.
- Ask a student to explain something to you/recount an instruction
- Use active reading strategies – underlining, highlighting and discussing content can help organise and solidify information
- Chunk information and present it in a static mode. E.g., use visual cues as reminder; this can be visual pictures, lists, graphic organizers etc.
- Make a learning experience multi-sensory – Write down tasks so a student can see it, say it aloud so that they can hear it. Use sensory experiences to increase the ways in which the student processes the information
- Encourage a student to request information when required
There are many fun games that can be played to help children to develop and extend their working memory. Card games, other memory games like “eye spy” or even a board game such as “Guess Who” are games that encourage the use of working memory without it feeling like “work”.
Attached below are two printable memory games. The cards get cut out and flipped upside down, student can only flip up two at a time to find the matching pair. Start slow maybe only using 4 cards and then as the student becomes more confident, increase the amount of cards.