Entraînement de la mémoire de travail : Effets sur la performance en mathématiques

The main components of working memory (WM; Baddeley & Hitch, 1974), central executive, phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad, are related to mathematics skills (Friso-van den Bos, Van der Ven, Kroesbergen, & Van Luit, 2013). Different studies have shown that WM training can increase WM capacity (Randall & Tyldesley, 2016). In that context, this research seeks to verify the effects of WM training on the components of WM as well as on performance in arithmetic and in problem solving among students in the first grades of primary school (6 to 8 years of age). The project also seeks to verify whether improvements are maintained over a six-month period and whether the training has a differential effect in mathematics depending on initial WM capacities. The results of this randomized and controlled study indicate that only central executive capacities are improved by WM training. Gains in verbal modality tend to be maintained over six months while visuo-spatial improvement does not. There was no observable effect on mathematic skills. However, WM training has a differential effect on problem solving, since children who had low initial WM performance did improve their problem solving performance. In conclusion, the effects of WM training are specific, generally to the central executive, and differentially to problem solving skills among those students with lower WM capacities. (PsycINFO Database Record