Download College Reading Supplement Working Memory

Working Memory and the Prefrontal Cortex
Metacognitive Approach to Learning
When reading, one can read hoping to remember what was read, one can identify what
is important to learn and memorize it, Neither approach to reading to learn involves
“thinking about thinking”. One, however, could observe and direct their own thinking
by using what is known about how the brain learns physically and by understanding the
role of observing and directing ones thinking when reading to learn. The latter is a
metacognitive approach to reading to learn.
Working Memory
Working memory is the process of maintaining a limited amount of information in
conscious awareness for a brief period of time so that it is available for use.
David Rock has developed a metaphor for this process of consciously holding on to
information in our awareness for a brief period of time (20-30 seconds) and
manipulating it.
The Stage – a Metaphor for the Prefrontal Cortex and Working Memory
DavidRock uses the metaphor “The Stage” (think of a theater stage). The stage as a
metaphor represents where the brain holds incoming information consciously and
manipulates it. Working memory represents where we hold the information and the
prefrontal cortex is that part of the brain that manipulates the information in working
memory. Think of information in working memory (the stage) as being what you are
paying attention to at any given moment. Information comes onto the stage and in a
few seconds disappears from consciousness. Learning is about doing something with
that information to make it meaningful and then getting it stored in long-term memory.
The Actors
Incoming information may be sensory input (what you are paying attention to outside
your body (ex. information you are reading). David calls that incoming information
Actors. The idea is while reading for example, to get the actor(s) on the stage (i.e., get
new information into working memory where the brain has 20-30 seconds to do
something with the information (construct meaning and try to store the information in
long term memory).
The Audience
As we have learned, for learning to occur the reader must interconnect new information
with prior knowledge (what the reader already knows). David calls this prior knowledge
the Audience. So, we can see the whole idea is to get new information (actors) and
knowledge we already have (audience) on the stage (working memory).
Therefore, by definition, working memory includes those processes that enable us to
hold in our `mind's eye' the contents of our conscious awareness
Working memory is the ability to actively hold information in the mind needed to do
complex tasks such as reasoning, comprehension and learning. Working memory tasks
are those that require the goal oriented active monitoring or manipulation of
information or behaviors in the face of interfering processes and distractions.
Review of the Literature on Working Memory
Of Special Note:
Scientist have now demonstrated that working memory can be improved using mental exercises
developed by Cogmed. This is a major break though in neuroscience. www.cogmed.com See
Appendix C
Other Findings;
Working memory is a short-term memory system that maintains a limited amount of
information in an active state. It functions by providing information of immediate relevance
while preventing distractions and irrelevant thoughts from interfering with the task at hand.
(Daily Science)
University of Missouri researchers found that the average person can keep just three or four
things in their "working memory" or conscious mind at one time.
Working memory is closely related to attention because it requires attention to hold a number
of items in mind at once. People with high working memory capacity have more focus. Those
with a lower attention span are more easily distracted. This fact may help researchers help
people with attention deficit disorders. (Science Daily
Working memory is the ability to keep information in your mind for a short time (20sec), focus
on a task and remember what to do next. It is a crucial component of attention.
How Well People Think Depends On Working Memory
- By Dr. Bill Klemm
Imagine dialing a phone number by having to look up each digit one at a time in the phone book.
Normally, you look up the number and remember all seven digits long enough to get it dialed.
Even with one digit at a time, you would have to remember each digit long enough to get it
dialed. What if your brain could not even do that! We call this kind of remembering, “working
memory,” because that is what the brain works with. Working memory is critical to everyday
living.
Conscious thought involves moving a succession of items through what seems like a virtual
scratchpad. Think of it like streaming audio/video, where “thought bites” move on to the scratch
pad where they are fed into a thought process and then moved off the scratch pad to make
room for the next thought bite.
We think with what is in working or “scratch pad” memory. What we know, stored in regular
memory, is brought onto the scratch pad in successive stages, each involving subjecting the
knowledge to analysis, integration into the current context, and creative reorganization via our
thinking processes (“thought engine”).
Conscious thinking thus requires the ability to hold information “on line” long enough to use it in
thinking. Conscious thought thus seems to be a seri-ally ordered process of moving thought
bites on to and off of the scratch pad.
Working Memory Load Affects Paying Attention
Paying attention is prerequisite to learning. The abil-ity to pay attention seems to be affected by
how much information (load) is being carried in working memory. These principles have been
elucidated in human experiments that tested the assumption that attending to relevant details
in a learning situation requires that the details be held in working memory. Having other,
nonrelevant, information in working memory at the same time serves as a distraction, lowering
attention and interfering with memory formation.
The point is simple. It is hard to think about two complicated things at once. The growing trend,
especially among young people, to multitask may seem wonderful. But actually, multitasking is
most likely to interfere with focused attention and, in turn, degrade memory formation, recall,
and thinking quality.
Certain strategies can help to reduce the load on working memory. Teachers should model and
students should employ the following devices:
 Provide help, cues, mnemonics, reminders.
 KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)(example: use short, simple sentences, present much of the
instruction as pictures/diagrams).
 Don’t present so much information. Less can be more.
 Facilitate rehearsal, using only relevant information and no distractors.
 Get engaged, by taking notes, and creating dia-grams and concept maps.
 Attach meaning from what is already known. (The more you know, the more you
can know).
 Organize information in small categories.
 Break down tasks into small chunks. Master each chunk sequentially, one at a time.
(Klemm)
Working memory is the ability to actively hold information in the mind needed to do complex
tasks such as reasoning, comprehension and learning. Working memory tasks are those that
require the goal oriented active monitoring or manipulation of information or behaviors in the
face of interfering processes and distractions. The cognitive processes involved include the
executive and attention control of short-term memory which provide for the interim
integration, processing, disposal, and retrieval of information. Working memory is a theoretical
concept central both to cognitive psychology and neuroscience.
“Working memory enables us to hold in our `mind's eye' the contents of our conscious
awareness, even in the absence of sensory input, by maintaining an active representation of
information for a brief period of time.”
Consciousness: the state of being `aware of one's own existence, sensations, and thoughts and
of one's environment' or of being `capable of thought, will, or perception'. `The component of
waking awareness perceptible by an individual at a given instant'.
(Webster's Dictionary)
Working memory is the process of maintaining a limited amount of information in an active
representation for a brief period of time so that it is available for use. Therefore, by definition,
working memory includes those processes that enable us to hold in our `mind's eye' the
contents of our conscious awareness, even in the absence of sensory input. Thus, the study of
working memory provides a framework for investigating the neural system underlying our
awareness of stimuli, memories and knowledge that are no longer tied to perceptual events.
Although the neural system responsible for working memory is known to include a large number
of brain regions, (Courtney)
Simple Online working memory activities
This Simon memory game knock-off trains short term memory. Watch the computer click the
colored buttons then repeat the same sequence using your memory.
http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/simon-memory-game.html
Talk about building concentration! The Brain Tuner will sharpen your mind every time. It's
addition and multiplication, not hard but you have to think fast.
http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/brain-tuner.html
This is a great game for strengthening your short-term memory (also known as working
memory). This brain workout shows how good your memory really is.
http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/brain-sequencer.html
During each round, you must repeat the pattern of sounds played by Jack. Jack adds an
additional sound to the pattern every round, so this game gets hard quick!
http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/copy-cat-jack.html
This Pattern Memory game trains spatial recall including memory for visual patterns and
location of objects.
http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/pattern-memory.html
Reading, Working memory, Cognitive Strategies
http://www.tobias-richter.org/Naumann_et_al_LEAIND.pdf