Effect of working memory training on working memory, arithmetic and following instructions.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Educational neuroscience
• Developmental psychology

Background:

• Mathematical ability is linked to working memory (WM) capacity.
• Previous research on WM training transfer to mathematics yields inconclusive results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of a 5-week working memory (WM) training program on arithmetic and non-trained WM tasks in children with WM deficits.
• To compare training-induced improvements against a control group of typically developing children.

Main Methods:

• 176 children with WM deficits underwent 5 weeks of WM training, with assessments at five intervals.
• A control group of 304 typically developing children performed the same tasks without training.
• Transfer tasks included complex WM, instruction following, and arithmetic tests.

Main Results:

• The training group showed significant improvements on all three transfer tests compared to the control group (p < 0.0001).
• Effect sizes were moderate to large for WM tasks and small for mathematics.
• Improvements correlated with training duration and gains on trained tasks.

Conclusions:

• WM training significantly improves non-trained WM tasks and, notably, arithmetic skills in children with WM deficits.
• Cognitive training holds potential for educational applications, but methods to enhance mathematical transfer require further investigation.
• Future research should focus on combining large sample sizes with high-quality data collection to detect subtle training effects.