What is working memory?
Working memory is the capacity to hold material in mind and manipulate it for a brief period. In other words, to briefly remember something and work on it at the same time. It has been compared to a workspace with multiple post-it notes. The post-it notes are not intended to be there forever; they must be used or transferred somewhere more reliable quickly, or they are forever lost. Each individual’s working memory capacity is different. It’s often reduced where there’s dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder (dyspraxia), ADHD, autistic spectrum disorder, developmental language disorder and mental health conditions.
Working memory is associated with cognitive load theory, a term coined in 1988 by John Sweller, who suggested that instructional methods should avoid overloading working memory in order to maximise learning. To return to the post-it analogy, it’s important for the information on the post-it notes to be moved quickly to a place where it can be stored (and remembered) – otherwise it’s gone for good.
If I have to hold something in my head, I sometimes have to start again because I’m trying to work fast. I take a while because I lose it
Think of working memory as like an upturned bottle, where Information flows downwards, and ultimately out of the bottle, to be stored in the long term memory.
There is only limited space in the working memory and if too much information is held there, it causes a bottleneck.
If nothing is done to relieve the load, ultimately the bottle will break, and all the information is lost.
How do I spot working memory difficulties?
Working memory difficulties are not as easily spotted as literacy or maths difficulties (though often they are linked). Sometimes a child who has working memory difficulties is thought to be lazy, distracted, or a daydreamer. Sometimes children mask so well that teachers don’t notice.
I feel as if I am daydreaming a lot and don’t understand what is being said. I find it really hard to listen to the teacher, because I keep daydreaming. So I just pretend I am listening to my teacher by looking at him. But then I can’t do the task and need help.
Here are some tell-tale signs that a child may be experiencing working memory difficulties:
- Low output, slow pace of work
- Poor behaviour
- Always tired
- Seems disorganised, especially with learning
- Perceived to “Never listen” especially to instructions
- Easily confused or overwhelmed
- Homework often late
- Hand goes up – but forgets
- Struggles to work with multiple sources for one piece of learning
- Struggles to take notes
- May appear to resist change of routines
- May struggle to acquire study & revision skills
Sometimes I find I have to read questions over and over again before I take them in. That’s why I need extra time to do exams.
Working memory can be supported with some simple adaptations.
The best support is monitoring and evaluating the load we give children. Very often teachers and parents expect their working memory capacity to be considerably bigger than it is in reality, and it’s common for us to be unaware of the unnecessary demands that we place on working memory in every lesson. The simple act of evaluating, preferably with a colleague or friend, and planning to reduce the load, can be a game changer.
Here’s some ideas for adaptations you can make in school and at home
- Always make explicit links to previous learning – and train learners to do this
- Keep instructions clear and concise, give them in chunks or steps, and repeat where needed. Visual or audio is great backup!
- Offer visual and kinaesthetic support for verbal material – pictures, actions, songs, etc
- Ensure your own spoken language is clear, concise, to the point, and accessible. Try not to waffle!
- Take time to organise how you present oral information so that it is structured
- Allow adequate time to process information
- Avoid asking children to do a task and listen at the same time
- Give all random information meaning and context, e.g. names, numbers, facts. This can be done in many different ways – telling it as a story, giving it characters, drawing it as a picture, making up mnemonics.
- Use response partners and speaking frames
- Encourage and support brain breaks/movement breaks
- Be aware of fatigue; tired brains need recovery time (especially for activities and homework after school)!
- Establish routines
When it comes to working memory difficulties, there’s no quick fix – but there’s a lot that parents and educators can do to relieve the load.
To find out more about what it’s like to have working memory difficulties for a school pupil, watch the 5 minute film Zeb’s Day:
To gain some more understanding and practical strategies, including an invaluable working memory checklist for teaching and learning, check out our course “Catastrophe or comic strip“.
ONLINE TRAINING COURSE
Catastrophe or Comic Strip:
Supporting working memory in the classroom
