How can we better support children with poor working memory in the classroom?

工作记忆是一个系统，它允许我们在短时间内存储和处理有限数量的信息。它对包括阅读和语言理解在内的许多课堂活动都是必不可少的。然而，尽管它很重要，但教师在如何支持有工作问题的儿童方面得到的培训有限。我的博士研究项目考察了：(1)人们能否通过关注特别重要的信息来提高他们在工作记忆任务中的表现；(2)教育专业人员是否理解工作记忆及其对学习的影响。第一个研究问题是通过一系列实验研究来检验的，在这些实验中，成人和儿童被告知某些信息比其他信息更重要。由此发现，个体可以优先处理工作记忆中特别重要的信息。这一证据对于对工作记忆和注意力之间的关系感兴趣的研究人员来说是有意义的。它还确定了一种在现实世界中增强重要信息记忆的潜在方法。第二个研究问题是使用在线问卷调查的，该问卷评估了教育专业人员对工作记忆的理解。这表明，教育专业人员对工作记忆有基本的了解，尽管有几个重要的误解是显而易见的。此外，90%的受访者表示，他们希望获得更多有关工作记忆的信息。拟议的奖学金旨在通过以下几种方式发展这些发现：(I)与学者分享研究结果。调查结果将在一个大型国际会议上公布，并通过同行评议的出版物公布。这将确保其他研究人员熟悉这些发现，并可以利用它们来指导他们未来的工作。(Ii)为教师提供关于工作记忆和常见误解的培训。这将通过几种方式实现。首先，将开发一个工作记忆讲习班，并在当地20所学校提供。这个研讨会将被设计成可扩展的，这样它们就可以用来增强全国各地的教育工作者对工作记忆的理解。其中一个研讨会还将被记录下来并发布在网上，从而允许来自世界各地的教师访问它。除此之外，还将编写一份包含关键信息的摘要。调查问卷的参与者(1425名教育专业人员)将在网上以及通过我们与当地学校和教育部的现有联系分享这些信息。最后，为了确保最大的影响，我将向几个针对教师的新闻媒体提出关于工作记忆的文章的想法。(Iii)进行进一步的相关研究。将完成两项研究。研究1将进一步检查大样本(约13,500名儿童)中的一些发现。然后，研究2将调查在我的博士项目中观察到的发现是否在更类似于课堂活动的任务中观察到。(Iv)增强我的研究技能和合作网络。通过完成上述额外的研究，我将提高我的数据分析技能，并与该领域的专家开展新的合作。因此，这些技能和合作将使我能够在未来进行更多的研究项目，旨在进一步检查工作记忆和认知发展。(V)开发资助申请。在奖学金期间，我将申请另外两个资助计划。第一项研究将考察在课堂任务中，将注意力引导到特定信息是如何影响记忆的。第二个将使用现有的数据集来回答与儿童的早期经历、认知发展(如工作记忆和语言能力)和教育结果有关的重要问题。

Working memory is a system that allows us to store and process limited amounts of information over a short period of time. It is essential for many classroom activities, including reading and language comprehension. However, despite its importance, teachers receive limited training on how to support children with working problems. My PhD research project examined: (1) whether people can enhance their performance on working memory tasks by focusing on particularly important information; and (2) whether educational professionals understand working memory and how it impacts upon learning. The first research question was examined through a series of experimental studies in which adults and children were told that certain pieces of information were more important than others. From this, it was found that individuals could prioritise particularly important information in working memory. Evidence of this has implications for researchers interested in the relationship between working memory and attention. It also identifies a potential way in which memory for important information could be enhanced in the real world. The second research question was investigated using an online questionnaire that assessed educational professionals' understanding of working memory. This revealed that educational professionals have a basic understanding of working memory, although several important misconceptions were apparent. There was also a clear desire for further training, with 90% of respondents reporting they would like more information about working memory.The proposed fellowship aims to develop these findings in several ways:(i) Share the findings with academics. The findings will be presented at a large international conference and through peer-reviewed publications. This will ensure that other researchers are familiar with the findings and can use them to inform their future work.(ii) Provide training to teachers about working memory and common misconceptions. This will be achieved in several ways. Firstly, a working memory workshop will be developed and delivered in 20 local schools. This workshop will be designed to be scalable so that they can be used to enhance educators understanding of working memory across the country. One of the workshops will also be recorded and posted online, thus allowing teachers from around the world to access it. In addition to this, a summary will also be developed containing key information. This will be shared with the questionnaire participants (1425 educational professionals), online, and through our existing links with local schools and the Department for Education. Finally, in order to ensure maximum impact, I will pitch ideas for articles about working memory to several journalistic outlets aimed at teachers.(iii) Conduct further related research. Two studies will be completed. Study 1 will further examine some of the findings in a large sample (approximately 13,500 children). Study 2 will then investigate whether the findings observed in my PhD project are observed in a task that is more similar to classroom-based activities.(iv) Enhance my research skills and collaborative networks. By completing the additional research described above, I will enhance my data analysis skills and develop new collaborations with experts in the field. These skills and collaborations will therefore allow me to conduct additional research projects in the future which aim to further examine working memory and cognitive development.(v) Develop funding applications. During the fellowship, I will apply for two further funding schemes. The first will examine how directing attention towards certain information affects memory in classroom-based tasks. The second will use existing datasets to answer important questions relating to children's early experiences, cognitive development (such as working memory and language abilities), and educational outcomes.