How are pupils’ working memory skills linked to their mathematical abilities?

This digest found in

Mathematics

What are the implications?

For leaders:

The researchers found that the pupils’ working memory skills were linked to their mathematical ability. Could teachers within your school work together to identify effective strategies to support the development of pupils’ working memory skills within the lessons they teach? How might teachers increase the number of opportunities they offer pupils to develop these skills? Would it help pupils to know why these skills are useful?

For practitioners:

This study found that pupils were better at manipulating and storing verbal information but that their ability to manipulate and store visual and spatial information accounted for 3% of the differences in their maths scores. Could you work with a colleague to identify activities that would help your pupils to develop the visual component of working memory?
This study found that pupils in Year 3 were more reliant on the visual component of their short term memory, but in Year 5 they were beginning to use the verbal component of their short term memory. Could you identify activities which are just outside pupils’ comfort zones in order to help make this transition? Would encouraging your pupils to make their learning processes explicit help you to do this?

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction What did the study find? How did the researchers define working memory and how was it tested? How were pupils' mathematical skills tested? How was the study designed? What are the implications? Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To find out more about collated digests click here Get Word Reader How are pupils’ working memory skills linked to their mathematical abilities? This digest found in Mathematics Send to a friend Word doc 90KB Printer friendly Collate for later What are the implications? For leaders: The researchers found that the pupils’ working memory skills were linked to their mathematical ability. Could teachers within your school work together to identify effective strategies to support the development of pupils’ working memory skills within the lessons they teach? How might teachers increase the number of opportunities they offer pupils to develop these skills? Would it help pupils to know why these skills are useful? For practitioners: This study found that pupils were better at manipulating and storing verbal information but that their ability to manipulate and store visual and spatial information accounted for 3% of the differences in their maths scores. Could you work with a colleague to identify activities that would help your pupils to develop the visual component of working memory? This study found that pupils in Year 3 were more reliant on the visual component of their short term memory, but in Year 5 they were beginning to use the verbal component of their short term memory. Could you identify activities which are just outside pupils’ comfort zones in order to help make this transition? Would encouraging your pupils to make their learning processes explicit help you to do this?