Working Memory, but Not IQ, Predicts Subsequent Learning in Children with Learning Difficulties

By Tracy Packiam Alloway. 2009

275 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the predictive power of working memory and IQ in children identified as having learning difficulties. The term "working memory" refers to the capacity to store and manipulate information in mind for brief periods of time. Working-memory capacity is strongly related to learning abilities and academic progress, predicting current and subse- quent scholastic attainment of children across the school years in both literacy and numeracy. Children aged between 7 and 11 years were tested at Time 1 on measures of working memory, IQ, and learning. They were then retested 2 years later on the learning measures. The findings indicated that working-memory capacity and domain-specific knowledge at Time 1, but not IQ, were significant predictors of learning at Time 2. The implications for screening and intervention are discussed.

Subfields: Developmental and Educational Psychology, Statistics and Probability

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/eec8f12b4fe256a049894465be1540b911bbd3de

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Citations in the corpus

Does working memory training generalize (2010, background): “…ability to maintain and manipulate information over short periods (e.g. Kingberg, et al., 2002; Holmes et al., 2009), the processing capacity of domain-free attention (e.g. Chein, & Morrison, in press; Jaeggi et al., 2008), or acquisition-and-retrieval of new information (Alloway & Alloway, 2009).”
Cognitive Load and Working Memory in Multimedia Learning: Conceptual and Measurement Issues (2019, background): “Working memory, often conceived as a “mental workspace,” can be defined as a processing resource with limited capacity involved in the storage of information while simultaneously manipulating information for brief periods of time (Alloway, 2009; Baddeley & Logie, 1999; Swanson & Alloway, 2012).”
Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment. (2010, unknown): “Targeted strategies may help (Gather-cole & Alloway, 2008), and there is growing evidence that working memory capacity can be increased by training (Jaeggi, Buschkuehl, Jonides, & Perrig, 2008; Verhaeghen, Cerella, & Basak, 2004), which also transfers to academic attainment (Alloway, 2009a).”
Learning mathematics through algorithmic and creative reasoning (2014, background): “Working memory (WM) as repeatedly been identified as a significant predictor in school performance (Alloway, Gathercole, Kirkwood, & Elliott, 009; Andersson & Lyxell, 2007; Gathercole & Pickering, 2000; Hitch, Towse, & Hutton, 2001).”