Research School Network: Recognising Working Memory Problems Professor Amanda Waterman and Mark Miller with an extract from Working Memory: Research Into Practice

This is an extract from Working Memory: Research Into Practice. You can read the full publication here.

There are several behaviours that tend to be associated with reduced working memory ability. Some of these behaviours can also be the product of other difficulties or learning disorders. However, when taken in the round, the behaviours outlined below can help detect children who may be at risk of working memory deficits.

Attention

Children with working memory difficulties can often appear distracted, or lose concentration easily. Problems with attention are obviously associated with attention deficit disorder, but children with working memory difficulties also struggle with attention and may find it difficult to maintain focus on tasks. This can often lead to abandoning the task at hand, because they cannot remember what they are supposed to be doing next. They may also become distracted by other activities (because they cannot complete the given task), or they might appear to ​‘zone out’.

Forgetting

Children with working memory difficulties tend to have problems with remembering. Common behaviours associated with this are: putting up their hand but then forgetting what they were going to say; being unable to remember what they were supposed to do next; being unable to remember what they were currently doing on a task; making place-keeping errors where they might skip parts of a task, or where they repeat part of a task (such as writing a word down twice successively); and struggling to hold information in mind. Where forgetting is partial, it is quite common for the children to remember the information at the beginning of the task, and then forget the rest.

Following instructions

Children with working memory difficulties often struggle to follow instructions or to complete multi-step tasks. They might miss out steps within a multi-step process, or only complete the first part of the instructions.

Needing extra support

Children with working memory difficulties may ask to be reminded what they are supposed to do next more often than other children, or may need more active reminders from staff about the task at hand. They might also more often seek support or help from peers regarding activities or instructions.

Academic progress

Reduced working memory ability is consistently associated with lower educational attainment, and children with working memory difficulties often struggle with key classroom activities such as reading and writing. They often struggle to learn new material, and tend to take longer to incorporate it into existing knowledge.