5 Ways Kids Use Working Memory to Learn - Understood.org

Working memory is responsible for many of the skills children use to learn to read. Auditory working memory helps kids hold on to the sounds letters make long ... SkiptocontentThispageisinEnglishEN|ESExploreourresourcesContentlibraryHowtospotsignsinkidsPodcastsWorkplaceresourcesWunderappforparentsAboutusOurmissionOurleadershipHowwestartedRedefiningaccessibilityEditorialstandardsMediacenterBlogPartnershipsDonateJoinourteamPrivacypolicyTermsofuseFundraisingdisclosureSitemapBecausedifferencesareourgreateststrengthDonateOpensnewwindowWhysupportUnderstood?AtaglanceWorkingmemoryhelpskidsholdontoinformationlongenoughtouseit.Workingmemoryplaysanimportantroleinconcentrationandinfollowinginstructions.Weakworkingmemoryskillscanaffectlearninginmanydifferentsubjectareasincludingreadingandmath.Haveyouevergonetothestorewithoutalist,thinkingyou’llremembereverythingyouneed…butdiscoveredwhenyougothomethatyouforgotseveralitems?Ifso,you’veexperiencedthelimitationsofworkingmemory.Workingmemoryisthementalstickynoteweusetokeeptrackofinformationuntilweneedtouseit.Workingmemoryiskeytolearning.Herearefivewayschildrenuseworkingmemorytolearn.1.WorkingmemoryandaccessinginformationTherearetwotypesofworkingmemory:auditorymemoryandvisual-spatialmemory.Youcanthinkoftheseskillsintermsofmakingavideo.Auditorymemoryrecordswhatyou’rehearingwhilevisual-spatialmemorycaptureswhatyou’reseeing.Butthat’swhereworkingmemory’ssimilaritywithmakingavideoends.Whenyoumakeavideo,visualandauditoryinformationisstoredforsafekeepingandcanbeplayedbackwhenyouneedtoaccessit.Youdon’tnecessarilyneedtopayattentiontodetailswhenyou’refilming.Workingmemory,ontheotherhand,isn’tjuststoredforlateruse.Ithastobeaccessedand“playedback”immediately —evenasnewinformationisarrivingandneedingtobeincorporated.Imagineateacherreadsawordprobleminmathclass.Kidsneedtobeabletokeepallthenumbersintheirhead,figureoutwhatoperationtouse,andcreateawrittenmathproblematthesametime.Kidswithweakworkingmemoryskillshavedifficultygrabbingandholdingontothatincominginformation.Thismeanstheyhavelessmaterialtoworkwithwhenthey’reperformingatask.Inmathclass,theymayknowhowtododifferentkindsofcalculations.However,theyrunintotroublewithwordproblems.It’sdifficulttolistenforcluewordsthatindicatewhichoperationtouse,whileatthesametimerememberingthenumbersthatneedtobepluggedintotheequation.2.WorkingmemoryandrememberinginstructionsKidsrelyonbothincominginformationandinformationstoredinworkingmemorytodoanactivity.Iftheyhaveweakworkingmemoryskills,it’shardtojuggleboth.Thiscanmakeitchallengingtofollowmulti-stepdirections.Kidswithweakworkingmemoryskillshavetroublekeepinginmindwhatcomesnextwhilethey’redoingwhatcomesnow.Forexample,yourchildmaynotbeabletomentally“goback”andrecallwhatsentencetheteacherwantedwrittendownwhilealsotryingtorememberhowtospelloutthewordsinthatsentence.3.WorkingmemoryandpayingattentionThepartofthebrainresponsibleforworkingmemoryisalsoresponsibleformaintainingfocusandconcentration.Here,workingmemoryskillshelpkidsrememberwhattheyneedtobepayingattentionto.Take,forexample,doingalongdivisionproblem.Yourchildneedsworkingmemorynotonlytocomeupwiththeanswer,butalsotoconcentrateonallofthestepsinvolvedingettingthere.Kidswithweakworkingmemoryskillshavetroublestayingontasktogettotheendresult.Youcouldthinkofitlikethelearningequivalentofwalkingintoaroomandforgettingwhatyoucameintoget.4.WorkingmemoryandlearningtoreadWorkingmemoryisresponsibleformanyoftheskillschildrenusetolearntoread.Auditoryworkingmemoryhelpskidsholdontothesoundslettersmakelongenoughtosoundoutnewwords.Visualworkingmemoryhelpskidsrememberwhatthosewordslooklikesotheycanrecognizethemthroughouttherestofasentence.Whenworkingeffectively,theseskillskeepkidsfromhavingtosoundouteverywordtheysee.Thishelpsthemreadwithlesshesitationandbecomefluentreaders.Learningtoreadisn’tassmoothaprocessforkidswithweakworkingmemoryskills.5.WorkingmemoryandlearningmathBeingabletosolvemathproblemsdependsonanumberofskillsthatbuildononeanotherlikebuildingblocks.Theblockatthebottom —themostimportantoneinthestack —istheabilitytorecognizeandreproducepatterns.It’sthefoundationforthenextblock:seeingpatternsinnumbersinordertosolveandrememberbasicmathfacts.Fromthere,kidsbuilduptostoringinformationaboutawordproblemintheirhead;theythenusethatinformationtocreateanumbersentencetosolvetheproblem.Thiseventuallyleadstotheabilitytoremembermathematicalformulas.Whatkeepstheblocksfromtopplingoveristheabilitytoremember,sequence,andvisualizeinformation —allofwhichcanbedifficultforachildwithweakworkingmemoryskills.Thegoodnews:TherearewaystohelpHavingweakworkingmemorycreatesobstaclestolearning.Buttherearewaystogetaroundtheseobstacles.Youcantryworkingmemoryboosterslikeplayingcardsornumberingdirections.Withhelpfromyouandsupportsatschool,yourchildcanbuildupworkingmemoryskillssolearningislessofastruggle.Learnmoreaboutkeyexecutivefunctionslikeworkingmemory.Andgettipsonhowtohelpkidswithexecutivefunctioningissues.KeytakeawaysWorkingmemoryislikeamentalstickynotethatkeepstrackofshort-terminformation.Therearetwokindsofworkingmemorythatworktogether:auditorymemoryandvisual-spatialmemory.Therearethingstodoathomeandatschooltohelpyourchildstrengthenworkingmemoryskills.TelluswhatinterestsyouSeeyourrecommendationsShareEmailAbouttheauthorAbouttheauthorAmandaMorinistheauthorof“TheEverythingParent’sGuidetoSpecialEducation”andtheformerdirectorofthoughtleadershipatUnderstood.Asanexpertandwriter,shehelpedbuildUnderstoodfromitsearliestdays.  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