What Is the Connection Between Working Memory and Learning?

Working memory theory was mainly proposed by Bardley, which advocates the concept of working memory to expand the concept of short-term memory, ^[1] gradually applied to other wide fields in the process of continuous development. The development of working memory theoretical models mainly goes through three stages, namely the three component models of working memory (also known as early working memory models), the nested processing model of working memory, the concentric circle model of working memory, and the late working memory model. ^[2]

Working memory refers to a memory system with limited capacity that temporarily stores and processes information during information processing. For example, to complete the oral calculation task 2 × 4 × 5 × 6, you must first remember the result that 2 × 4 is equal to 8. Second, you must also remember that 8 × 5 is equal to 40 in order to perform the next calculation smoothly. Here 8 and 40 are Stored in working memory. If there is a problem with working memory and you can't remember 8 and 40, it will be impossible to complete the above tasks. As can be seen from this example, working memory is a memory of the current working state, which temporarily stores the current information and also processes the information.

Bardley and others believe that working memory is not a single component, but a processing system composed of multiple components. It includes four components: a speech loop, a visual space template, a scenario buffer, and a central execution system. Has different functions.

Relationship between working memory and learning ability

In recent years, with the deepening of research on working memory, people have begun to realize that the differences in student academic performance are not only related to knowledge level, but also to working memory. The influence of working memory on learning ability is one of the most applied fields of working memory research. Zeng Shou hammer and Wu Huaqing's research on working memory in children with learning disability holds that: children with dyslexia and children with math learning defects have deficiencies in verbal working memory and executive function; children with math learning disabilities also have certain deficiencies in empty memory working memory . Wang Mingyi and Chen Yinghe made extensive explorations on the relationship between the various components of working memory and children's arithmetic cognition. Compared with speech ring and visual space template, the role of central execution in children's arithmetic cognitive processing is more critical. Wang Enguo's research found that working memory affects students' learning ability through reading comprehension, writing, and mathematical problem solving. The influence of speech circuits on reading is more reflected in the understanding of complex sentence structures. The central executive function plays a greater role in the processing of language meaning. The gradual improvement of writing ability is inseparable from the growth of working memory ability. The three components of memory have important implications for both simple and complex mathematical problem solving. In the study of short-term memory, working memory and processing speed of children with Chinese learning difficulties, Wang Enguo, Shen Deli and others found that the shortcomings of Chinese children with learning difficulties were the decline in working memory. The shortcomings of working memory are the lack of verbal working memory, which has nothing to do with the visual spatial working memory ability. The difficulty of language learning is related to the specific working memory (verbal working memory) ability. The cause of working memory defects is the lack of storage capacity, not the defect in processing efficiency.

The relationship between working memory and thinking

Thinking involves a wide range, and in terms of advanced cognitive activities, including mental arithmetic, reasoning, and problem solving. Tang Huilin used speech analogy reasoning and graphic analogy reasoning tasks to study the relationship between analogy reasoning and working memory. It was found that in graphic analogy reasoning, there are spatial components in the visual spatial template, pronunciation components in the speech circuit, and the participation of the central actuator ; In speech analogy reasoning, the spatial component in the visual spatial template plays a major role. Bai Xuejun and others used eye tracking to explore the effects of working memory, the relationship between the two premises, and the way of expression on linear syllogism reasoning. The results show that the process of linguistic representation and the establishment of spatial relationships in the linear syllogistics inference process are both affected by the working memory capacity. The higher the working memory capacity of the participants, the easier it is to establish the relationship between language representation and space. Yan Guoli and others used eye tracking to examine the semantic processing of ambiguous phrases. It was found that high working memory is conducive to sentence understanding, but has no significant effect on the extraction and retention of the two meanings of ambiguous phrases. Numerous studies have shown that there is a close relationship between working memory and thinking.