Joni Holmes

Adaptive training leads to sustained enhancement of poor working memory in children.

Working memory plays a crucial role in supporting learning, with poor progress in reading and mathematics characterizing children with low memory skills. This study investigated whether these problems can be overcome by a training program designed to boost working memory. Children with low working memory skills were assessed on measures of working memory, IQ and academic attainment before and after training on either adaptive or non-adaptive versions of the program. Adaptive training that taxed working memory to its limits was associated with substantial and sustained gains in working memory, with age-appropriate levels achieved by the majority of children. Mathematical ability also improved significantly 6 months following adaptive training. These findings indicate that common impairments in working memory and associated learning difficulties may be overcome with this behavioral treatment.

Working Memory and Children’s Mathematical Skills: Implications for mathematical development and mathematics curricula

This study examined the contributions of the different components of the working memory (WM) model to a range of mathematical skills in children, using measures of WM function that did not involve numerical stimuli. A sample of 148 children (78 Year 3, mean age 8 years and 1 month, and 70 Year 5 pupils, mean age 9 years and 10 months) completed WM measures and age‐appropriate mathematics tests designed to assess four mathematical skills defined by the National Curriculum for England. Visuo‐spatial sketchpad and central executive, but not phonological loop, scores predicted unique variance in children’s curriculum‐based mathematical attainment but the relative contributions of each component did not vary much across the different skills. Subsequently, the mathematics data were re‐analysed using cluster analysis and new performance‐related mathematics factors were derived. All three components of WM predicted unique variance in these performance‐related skills, but revealed a markedly distinct pattern of associations across the two age groups. In particular, the data indicated a stronger role for the visuo‐spatial sketchpad in the younger children’s mathematics performance. We discuss our findings in terms of the importance of WM in the development of early mathematical ability.

Does working memory training lead to generalized improvements in children with low working memory? A randomized controlled trial.

Children with low working memory typically make poor educational progress, and it has been speculated that difficulties in meeting the heavy working memory demands of the classroom may be a contributory factor. Intensive working memory training has been shown to boost performance on untrained memory tasks in a variety of populations. This first randomized controlled trial with low working memory children investigated whether the benefits of training extend beyond standard working memory tasks to other more complex activities typical of the classroom in which working memory plays a role, as well as to other cognitive skills and developing academic abilities. Children aged 7–9 years received either adaptive working memory training, non-adaptive working memory training with low memory loads, or no training. Adaptive training was associated with selective improvements in multiple untrained tests of working memory, with no evidence of changes in classroom analogues of activities that tax working memory, or any other cognitive assessments. Gains in verbal working memory were sustained one year after training. Thus the benefits of working memory training delivered in this way may not extend beyond structured working memory tasks.

The relationship between visuospatial sketchpad capacity and children's mathematical skills

This study examined the association between visuospatial sketchpad (VSSP) capacity and childrens mathematics attainment. The aim of the study was to explore age-related differences in the relationship between the visual and spatial memory subcomponents of the VSSP (Logie, 1995) and a range of mathematical skills. Fifty-one 7- to 8-year-old and fifty-six 9- to 10-year-old primary schoolchildren participated in the study. The Visual Patterns Test and the Block Recall task were employed as VSSP measures. The results revealed a differential pattern of associations between childrens visual and spatial working memory abilities and their mathematical skills. In younger children, the Block Recall task predicted mathematics performance, whereas, in the older children, the Visual Patterns Test was a significant predictor of mathematics performance.

Taking working memory training from the laboratory into schools

Working memory skills have been shown to be enhanced by adaptive training in several randomised controlled trials. Here, two field trials were conducted in which teachers administered working memory training to their own pupils in school. Twenty-two children aged 8–9 years participated in Trial 1. In Trial 2, 50 children aged 9–11 years with the lowest academic performance completed training. They were matched with a group of 50 children who were not trained. Following training, children in Trial 1 improved significantly in both trained and untrained working memory tasks, with effect sizes comparable to those reported in research studies. Improvements on the trained tasks in Trial 2 were comparable, and training was associated with significantly greater progress at school across the academic year in maths and English. These findings indicate that teacher-administered training leads to generalised and robust gains in working memory and educationally significant gains in academic performance.

The diagnostic utility of behavioral checklists in identifying children with ADHD and children with working memory deficits

The present study investigated whether children with ADHD and those with working memory impairments have a common behavioral profile in the classroom. Three teacher checklists were used: the Conners’ teacher rating scale (CTRS), the behavior rating inventory of executive function (BRIEF), and the working memory rating scale. The Conners’ continuous performance test (CPT) was also included to determine whether there is a correspondence between performance on this widely used cognitive measure of attention deficits and teacher ratings of classroom behavior. All three behavior scales, but not the CPT, were able to successfully discriminate children with ADHD and those with working memory deficits from typically-developing children. Both the CTRS and the BRIEF discriminated a significant proportion of the children with ADHD from those with working memory deficits, indicating that while both groups exhibit behavioral problems in the classroom, they are characterized by differential attention profiles. The children with ADHD were identified on the basis of oppositional and hyperactive behavior, while those with working memory deficits were more inattentive.

Does working memory training promote the use of strategies on untrained working memory tasks

Adaptive computerized training has been associated with significant enhancements in untrained working memory tasks, but the nature of the cognitive changes that underpin these improvements are not yet fully understood. Here, we investigate the possibility that training stimulates the use of memory-related strategies. In a randomized controlled trial, participants completed four tests of working memory before receiving adaptive working memory training, nonadaptive working memory training with low memory loads, or no training. Open-ended interviews about strategy use were conducted after the administration of untrained working memory tasks at two time points. Those in the adaptive and nonadaptive groups completed the assessments before (T1) and after (T2) 10 training sessions. The no-training group completed the same set of tasks at T1 and T2, without any training between assessment points. Adaptive training was associated with selective improvements in untrained tests of working memory, accompanied by a significant increase in the use of a grouping strategy for visuospatial short-term memory and verbal working memory tasks. These results indicate that training-related improvements in working memory may be mediated by implicit and spontaneous changes in the use of strategies to subsegment sequences of information into groups for recall when the tasks used at test overlap with those used during training.

Children with low working memory and children with ADHD: same or different?

The purpose of this study was to compare working memory (WM), executive function, academic ability, and problem classroom behaviors in children aged 8–11 years who were either identified via routine screening as having low WM, or had been diagnosed with ADHD. Standardized assessments of WM, executive function and reading and mathematics were administered to 83 children with ADHD, 50 children with low WM and 50 typically developing children. Teachers rated problem behaviors on checklists measuring attention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, oppositional behavior, and difficulties associated with executive function in the classroom. The ADHD and low WM groups had highly similar WM and executive function profiles, but were distinguished in two key respects: children with ADHD had higher levels of rated and observed impulsive behavior, and children with low WM had slower response times. Possible mechanisms for these common and distinct deficits are discussed.

An evaluation of a classroom-based intervention to help overcome working memory difficulties and improve long-term academic achievement.

Two contrasting forms of classroom-based intervention were implemented with 256 primary school children identified as having working memory (WM) difficulties. In one, teaching staff were trained to provide educational environments that were sensitive to the needs of identified children with WM difficulties. The second form of intervention utilized a behavioral teaching approach in which identified children were provided with regular, brief, and highly focused inputs in relevant basic skills areas. A third group of children with similar WM difficulties served as controls. At the end of the year, there was no evidence that either of the intervention programs had resulted in greater WM or academic performance (on Wechsler mathematics and reading tests) than for controls. However, classroom observation data indicated that the extent to which teachers implemented desirable strategies at any time point, inside or outside of the interventions (that is, across all of the research groups), proved to be a predictor of the children’s attainment. The implications of these findings for further work in this burgeoning field are discussed.

The Prevalence of ADHD-Like Symptoms in a Community Sample.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore the prevalence of ADHD symptoms in a community sample of children in the United Kingdom. Method: There were 964 ten year olds (55% boys; M = 10.4 years; SD = 0.6) from mainstream schools in the United Kingdom in this study. The ADHD Rating Scale-IV, which provides ratings on the frequency of ADHD symptoms drawn from DSM-IV criteria, was administered to class teachers. Results: The findings indicated an overall 8% prevalence rate, with the majority of children identified as the Hyperactive/Impulsive subtype (5%). Almost half of these children were receiving additional support in the classroom as a result of learning difficulties. Conclusion: It is therefore of value for educators to be able to conduct early screening to support these children before problems worsen. (J. of Att. Dis. 2010; 14(1) 52-56)