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

工作记忆是一个系统，允许我们在短时间内存储和处理有限数量的信息。它对许多课堂活动都是必不可少的，包括阅读和语言理解。然而，尽管其重要性，教师在如何支持有工作问题的儿童方面接受的培训有限。我的博士研究项目研究：（1）人们是否可以通过专注于特别重要的信息来提高他们在工作记忆任务中的表现;（2）教育专业人士是否理解工作记忆以及它如何影响学习。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，成年人和儿童被告知某些信息比其他信息更重要。由此发现，人们可以在工作记忆中优先考虑特别重要的信息。这一证据对研究工作记忆和注意力之间关系的研究人员具有启示意义。它还确定了一种在真实的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，评估教育专业人士对工作记忆的理解。这表明教育专业人士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。90%的受访者表示他们希望获得更多关于工作记忆的信息。拟议的研究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。研究结果将在一次大型国际会议上并通过同行评审的出版物发表。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，将在20所当地学校开展工作记忆工作坊。这个研讨会将被设计成可扩展的，以便他们可以用来提高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录制并发布在网上，从而使世界各地的教师能够访问它。除此之外，还将编写一个包含关键信息的摘要。这将与问卷参与者（1425名教育专业人员）在线分享，并通过我们与当地学校和教育部的现有联系分享。最后，为了确保最大的影响力，我将把关于工作记忆的文章的想法推销给几个针对教师的新闻媒体。(iii)进一步开展相关研究。将完成两项研究。第一项研究将进一步审查大样本（约13 500名儿童）的一些调查结果。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)提高我的研究技能和协作网络。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，旨在进一步研究工作记忆和认知发展。(v)开发资金应用程序。在奖学金期间，我将申请另外两项资助计划。第一部分将研究如何将注意力集中在某些信息上，从而影响课堂任务中的记忆。第二个将使用现有的数据集来回答与儿童早期经历，认知发展（如工作记忆和语言能力）和教育成果有关的重要问题。

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.