Working memory and academic success

Lynn Carahaly

Lynn Carahaly

On Friday I introduced my 15-year old daughter Dorothy to training with Brain Fitness Pro. As Dot notes in her blog post she struggles with tests and with quantitative concepts. We’re both hoping that by strengthening her working-memory she’ll have a more successful time at school. This morning I saw a post from Lynn Carahaly (ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist for The Alcott Center for Cognitive Enhancement, LLC) talking about the critical role of working-memory for academic success.

Lynn gives a clear compelling perspective of someone in the field of learning skills:

“A limited working memory capacity often results in the loss of crucial information when trying to follow instructions. If information is not stored properly, or at all, a child cannot retrieve this information for future tasks or build upon prior information for learning. Children with working memory deficits demonstrate difficulty remembering information from one lesson to the next.”

She also refers to a study by researchers from the University of York who found that working memory capacity for children as young as four years old is a predictor of academic success.

All of which confirms and strengthens my conviction that effectively using neuroplasticity to our advantage will be a significant development in the world of learning and education.

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