Working
Memory: holds information in memory long
enough to do something with it. Think of
it as your “desktop.”
Short
term working memory – Can I remember a phone number long enough to dial
it? Long-term working memory- Can I remember math facts that I have worked on for the last month?
Verbal working memory-to hold language
“online” while doing “self talk” or inner dialogue. “It’s ok that I forgot what
I was going to say for this point of the speech." Once that type of self-talk is finished….he
can get on with the speech without forgetting what comes next. Language based
difficulties include blurting for children who have trouble in this area. It requires the use of phonemic
awareness(sound). She may repeat a phone
number over and over while she gets ready to dial it.
Non-verbal
working memory enables one to have a sense of time (what
does 10 minutes feel like), sees mental visual image, ability to see in
hindsight and foresight.
Visual-spatial working memory works as a kind of visual sketchpad
of the brain. It allows you to envision something, to keep it “visually in your
brain.” Students use this skill to do math and to remember patterns, images and
sequences of events.
Symptoms of Working Memory Deficits
·
Abandons activities before completing them
·
Looks like he's daydreaming
·
Fails to complete assignments
·
Puts up a hand to answer questions but forgets what she wanted
to say (This is typical for a five-year-old, but not for an 11-year-old, for
example.)
·
Mixes up material inappropriately, for example, combining two
sentences
·
Forgets how to continue an activity that he's started, even
though the teacher has explained the steps
Working memory may play into learning problems more than other "below the water line" learning areas. I'd love to hear comments on this subject.
