Book Description | It is hard to conceive of a classroom activity that does not involve working memory - our ability to work with information. In fact, it would be impossible for students to learn without working memory. From following instructions to reading a sentence, from sounding out an unfamiliar word to calculating a math problem, nearly everything a student does in the classroom requires working with information. Even when a student is asked to do something simple, like take out their science book and open it to page 289, they have to use their working memory.
Most children have a working memory that is strong enough to quickly find the book and open to the correct page, but some don't - approximately 10% in any classroom. A student who loses focus and often daydreams may fall in this 10%. A student who isn't living up to their potential may fall in this 10%. A student who may seem unmotivated may fall in this 10%. In the past, many of these students would have languished at the bottom of the class, because their problems seemed insurmountable and a standard remedy like extra tuition didn't solve them. But emerging evidence shows that many of these children can improve their performance by focusing on their working memory. Working memory is a foundational skill in the classroom and when properly supported it can often turn around a struggling student's prospects. |
About the Author | Tracy Packiam Alloway, PhD, is a professor of Psychology at the University of North Florida. Formerly, she was the Director of the Center for Memory and Learning in the Lifespan in the UK. She is an expert on working memory and education, and has published over 75 journal articles and books on this topic. She developed the internationally recognized Alloway Working Memory Assessment (Pearson Assessment, translated into 20 languages). She writes a blog for Psychology Today and Huffington Post. She has also provided advice to Fortune 500 companies, like Prudential, as well as the World Bank and BBC. Ross Alloway, PhD, CEO of Memosyne Ltd., brings working memory training to educators and parents. Ross developed Jungle Memory, used by thousands of students in over twenty countries. Together with Tracy Alloway, Ross edited an academic book on working memory (Psychology Press) and co-authored a popular science book (Simon & Schuster, translated into 17 languages). He has also has published research with Tracy Alloway on working memory in a variety of contexts, from education to aging, from happiness to lying, from barefoot running to Facebook. Their research has been featured on BBC, ABC News, Huffington Post, Salon, The Washington Post, and Newsweek. He writes a blog for Huffington Post. |