Dr Rebecca Gordon, UCL Institute of Education

Revisiting working memory fifty years after Baddeley and Hitch: A review of field-specific conceptualizations, use and misuse, and paths forward.
Abstract: As educational and developmental psychologists who study the role of working memory in educational outcomes, we know the various assumptions made about definitions and measurements of this cognitive ability. Considering the popularity of the multi-component working memory model in these fields, we describe the considerable overlap of the central executive with executive function and how this has a downstream problematic effect on measurement. We further consider that working memory tasks are an outcome of research with adult populations and, as such, do not consider points of development in children concerning the numerous abilities involved in working memory task completion. Limitations in our understanding of which cognitive abilities are essential in education and development are discussed in the context of how we can capture students’ capabilities and support challenges. Recommendations are made as to how we might more precisely measure working memory, and we argue there is value in investigating the feasibility of a developmental model to facilitate a more detailed understanding of the roles of working memory and related factors in learning.

[@JonathanFirthNeezes]

Great talk!