EFFECTIVENESS OF AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM TO IMPROVE WORKING MEMORY AMONG STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
Abstract
This study aimed at measure the effectiveness of an educational program to improve working memory (WM) among students with learning disabilities (SLD). The sample of the study consisted of (57) SLD enrolled in the resource rooms at Najran, Kingdome of Saudi Arabia. The sample was distributed into two groups, control and experimental. The WM scale was developed and applied for both groups as pretest and posttest. The students of the experimental group joined an educational program to improve WM for two months. While, the students of the control group were not enrolled in the same program. The results revealed the effectiveness of the program on improving the WM in favor of the students in the experimental group.
Keywords: educational program, learning disabilities, working memory
REFERENCES
Abd Ghani, K., & Gathercole, S. (2013). Working memory and study Skills: A comparison between dyslexic and non-dyslexic adult learners. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 97(6), 271–277.
Abu-Rabia, S. (2003). The influence of working memory on reading and creative writing processes in a second language. Educational Psychology, 23(2), 209–222.
Al-Ayed, W., & Abdel-Fattah, M. (2009). The effect of computerized training programs on improving the phonological awareness, WM, and language skills for students with learning disabilities in reading difficulties. Journal of Arab Studies in Education and Psychology, 3(1), 168-213(in Arabic).
Al-Ayed, W., & Al-Natur, M. (2008). The effect of training programs in developing memory of students with learning disabilities. College of Education Journal ,32, 401-420(in Arabic).
Al-Hassani, S. (2011). The effectiveness of training program based on the working memory skills on developing reading comprehension among students with learning disabilities. Journal of Educational and psychological Studies, 71, 191-256.
Al-Khateeb, M. (2012). Working memory styles among students with learning disabilities in reading and mathematics.( MA thesis.( Amman Arab University (in Arabic).
Alloway T., & Gathercole S. (2006). Working memory and neurodevelopment disorders. Psychology Press, Hove.
Alloway, T. (2006). How does working memory work in the classroom? Educational Research and Reviews. 1(4), 314-319.
Alloway, T. (2009). Working memory, but not IQ, predicts subsequent learning in children with learning difficulties. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25 (2), 92-98.
Al-Smady, H., & Qutami, N. (2010). The effectiveness of a training program in developing memory of students with learning disabilities. International Journal for Research in Education, 28, 48-76 (in Arabic).
Archibald, L., & Gathercole, S. (2007). The complexities of complex span: Storage and processing deficits in specific language impairment. Journal of Memory and Language, 57(2), 177-194.
Archibald, L & Gathercole, S. (2006). Short-term and working memory in specific language impairment. In T. P. Alloway & S. E. Gathercole (Eds.), working memory in neurodevelopment Disorders (pp. 139–160). England: Psychology Press.
Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255(5044), 556-559.
Baddeley, A. (2000).The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417-423.
Baddeley, A. (2002). Is working memory still working? European Psychologist, 7(2), 85–97.
Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117-148.
Bender, W. (2008). Learning Disabilities: Characteristics, Identification, and Teaching Strategies. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Benson, J. Nicka, M., & Stern, P. (2006). How does a child with sensory processing problems play? The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 4(4), 1-7.
Bryant, D., Bryant, B., & Hammill, D. (2000). Characteristic behaviors of students with LD who have teacher-identified math weakness. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33(2), 168-177.
Chepenik, L., Cornew, L., & Farah, M. (2007). The influence of sad mood on cognition. Emotion, 7(4), 802-811.
Cohen, G., & Conway, M. (2008). Memory in the real world. England: Psychology Press.
Condus, M., Marshall, K., & Miller, S. (1986). Effects of the keyword mnemonic strategy on vocabulary acquisition and maintenance by learning disabled children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 19(10), 609-613.
Cornoldi, C., Venneri, A., Marconato, F., Molin, A., & Montinari, C. (2003). A rapid screening measure for the identification of visuospatial learning disability in schools. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(4), 299-306.
Cowan, N. (2008). What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory? . Progress in Brain Research, 169 (169), 323–338.
Cusimano, A. (2002). Learning disabilities: There is a cure: A Guide for Parents, Educators and Physicians . Pennsylvania: Achieve Publication.
D’Esposito, M. (2007). From cognitive to neural models of working memory. The Royal Society, 362,761–772.
Dahlin, K. (2011). Effects of working memory training on reading in children with special needs. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 24 (4), 479-791.
Dunning, D., Holmes, J., & Gathercole, S. (2013). Does working memory training lead to generalized improvements in children with low working memory? A randomized controlled trial. Developmental Science, 16(6), 915-925.
Gathercole, S. & Alloway, T. (2008). Working memory and learning: A practical guide for teachers. London: Sage.
Gathercole, S., Pickering, S., Knight, C., & Stegmann, Z. (2004). Working memory skills and educational attainment: Evidence from national curriculum assessments at 7 and 14 years of age. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18(1), 1–16.
Gray, S., Chaban, P., Martinussen, R., Goldberg, R., Gotlieb, H., Kronitz, R., Hockenberry, M., & Tannock, R. (212). Effects of a computerized working memory training program on working memory, attention, and academics in adolescents with severe LD and comorbid ADHD. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(12), 1277-1284.
Greene, G. (1999). Mnemonic multiplication fact instruction for Students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research.14, (3), 141-148.
Gregg, N., & Mather,N.( 2002). School is fun at recess: informal analyze of writing language for students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(1), 7-22.
Holmes, J. (2012). Working memory and learning difficulties.from:http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Working-memory-and-learning diffculties.pdf.
Holmes, J., Gathercole, S., Place, M., Dunning, D., Hilton, K., & Elliott, J. (2010). Working memory deficits can be overcome: Impacts of training and medication on working memory in children with ADHD. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24(6), 827-836.
Hulme, C. & Snowling, M. (1993). Phonological deficits and the development of word recognition skills in developmental dyslexia. (pp 225-236) In R.M. Joshi and C.K. Leong (Eds) Differential Treatment of Reading and Writing Disorders. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
Hulme, C., & Mackenzie, S. (1992). Working memory and severe learning difficulties. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kenworthy, L., Yerys, B., Anthony, L., & Wallace, G. (2008). Understanding executive control in autism spectrum disorders in the lab and in the real world. Neuropsychological Review, 18(4), 320–338.
Kibby M., Marks W., Morgan S. & Long C. (2004). Specific impairment in developmental reading disabilities: a working memory approach. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37(4), 349–363.
Kirk, S., Gallagher, J., Coleman, M. & Anastasiow, N. (2009). Educating exceptional children. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Klein, P. S. & Schwartz, A. A (1979). Effects of training auditory sequential memory and attention on reading. Journal of Special Education, 13, (4), 365-374.
Klingberg, T. (2010). Training and plasticity of working memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14(7), 317–324.
Klingberg, T., Fernell, E., Olesen, P., Johnson, M., Gustafsson, P., Dahlstrom, … & Helena, W. (2005). Computerized training of working memory in children with ADHD-a randomized, controlled trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 44(2), 177-186.
LaBar, K & & Cabeza, R. (2006). Cognitive neuroscience of emotional memory. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 7(1), 54-64.
Landerl K., Bevan A. & Butterworth B. (2004). Developmental dyscalculia and basic numerical capacities. Cognition, 93, 99–125.
Lerner, J. (2003). Learning disabilities: Theories, diagnosis, and teaching strategies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Levine, D. & Reed, M. (1999). Developmental variation and learning disorders. Educators Publishing Service. Inc. Cambridge.
Lutz, S., & Huitt, W. (2003). Information processing and memory: Theory and applications. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved April 2014, from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/papers/infoproc.pdf.
Maehler, C., & Schuchardt, K. (2009). Working memory functioning in children with learning disabilities: Does intelligence make a difference? Journal of Intellectual Disabilities Research, 53(1), 3–10.
Mammarella, I., Lucangeli, D., & Cornoldi, C. (2010). Spatial working memory and arithmetic deficits in children with nonverbal learning difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43(5), 455-468.
Martinez, M. E. (2000). Education as the cultivation of intelligence. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
McCabe, D., Roediger, H., McDaniel, M., Balota, D., & Hambrick, D. (2010). The relationship between working memory capacity and executive functioning: evidence for a common executive attention construct. Neuropsychology, 24(2), 222–243.
McNamara, J. & Wong, B. (2003). Memory for everyday information in students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(5), 394-406.
Melby-Lervag, M., & Hulme, C. (2013). Is working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review. Developmental Psychology, 49 (2), 270–291.
Mercer , C. & Pullen, P. (2009). Students with learning disabilities. NJ: Merrill-Prentice Hall.
Mezzacappa, E., & Buckner, J. (2010). Working memory training for children with attention problems or hyperactivity: A school-based pilot study. School Mental Health, 2(4), 202–208.
Michael,C., Bert ,P., & Kenneth , L. H ( 1983 ) . Verbal rehearsal and visual imagery: mnemonic Aids For learning-disabled children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 16(6), 352-354.
Morrison, A., & Chein, J. (2011). Does working memory training work? The promise and challenges of enhancing cognition by training working memory. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 18(1), 46–60.
Mustafa, M. (2003). The effects of a training program based on verbal working memory for students with learning disabilities. Journal of Educational, psychological & social Research, 122, 172-225(in Arabic).
Passolunghi M. (2006). Working memory and arithmetic learning disability. In T. P. Alloway & S. E. Gathercole (Eds.), Working Memory and Neurodevelopment Disorders (pp. 113–38). England: Psychology Press.
Passolunghi, M & Mammarella, I. (2012). Selective spatial working memory impairment in a group of children with mathematics learning disabilities and poor problem-solving skills. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 45(4), 341-50.
Passolunghi, M. C., & Siegel, L. S. (2001). Short term memory, working memory, and inhibitory control in children with specific arithmetic learning disabilities. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 80, 44–57.
Pickering, S. (2006). Working memory and education. Burlington, MA: Academic Press.
Salvin, R. (2003). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Schuchardt, K., Maehler, C., & Hasselhorn, M. (2008). Working memory deficits in children with specific learning disorders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41(6), 514–523.
Scruggs, T., & Mastropieri, M. (1989).Mnemonic instruction of LD students: A field-Based Evolution. Learning Disability Quarterly, 12, (2), 119-125.
Scruggs, T., Mastropieri, M., & Terrill, M. (2004). SAT vocabulary instruction for high school student with disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 39(5), 288 –294.
Smith, D. (2004). Introduction to special education: teaching in an age of opportunity. Boston: Pearson Education, INC.
Swanson H. & Sachse-Lee C. (2001). A subgroup analysis of working memory in children with reading disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(3), 249–263.
Swanson, H. (2006). Cognitive processes that underlie mathematical precociousness in young children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 93(3), 239–264.
Swanson, H., & Jerman, O. (2006). Math disabilities: A selective meta-analysis of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 76(2), 249–274.
Swanson, H., & Sachse-Lee, C. (2001). Mathematical problem solving and working memory in children with learning disabilities: Both executive and phonological processes are important. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 79(3), 294-321.
Swanson, H., Zheng, X., & Jerman, O. (2009). Working memory, short-term memory, and reading disabilities: A selective meta-analysis of the literature. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42(3), 260–287.
Van Der Sluis, S., Van Der Leij, A., & De Jong, P. (2005). Working memory in Dutch children with reading and arithmetic related LD. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38 (3), 207-221.
Westerberg, C & Marsolek, C. (2003). Hemispheric asymmetries in memory processes as measured in a false recognition paradigm. Cortex, 39(4), 627-642.
Yuan, K., Steedle, J., Shavelson, R., Alonzo, A., & Oppezzo, M. (2006). Working memory, fluid intelligence, and science learning. Educational Research Review, 1(2), 83–98.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2015 Turkish International Journal of Special Education and Guidance & Counselling ISSN: 1300-7432
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.