Strategy selection for cognitive skill acquisition depends on task demands and working memory capacity

The involvement of working memory capacity (WMC) in ruled-based cognitive skill acquisition is well-established, but the duration of its involvement and its role in learning strategy selection are less certain. Participants (N = 610) learned four logic rules, their corresponding symbols, or logic gates, and the appropriate input–output combinations in three-gate circuit patterns. Participants practiced 120 repetitions of each rule (480 total gates) over the course of 10 training blocks. Memory load varied between subjects. The confluence of task demands and individual differences in WMC (N = 518) dramatically affected speed–accuracy tradeoffs and strategic use of a computerized help function. Cluster analysis revealed five distinct groups of participants based on the combination of response accuracy, latency, and help use. Some groups with moderate to high mean WMC acquired the task with predictable performance patterns. Other groups, prevalently under a memory load and with low mean WMC, failed to learn or overused help.     

Effects of working memory training on reading in children with special needs

This study examines the relationship between working memory and reading achievement in 57 Swedish primary-school children with special needs. First, it was examined whether children’s working memory could be enhanced by a cognitive training program, and how the training outcomes would relate to their reading development. Next, it was explored how differential aspects of working memory are related to children’s reading outcomes. The working memory training yielded effects, and these effects appeared beneficial to children’s reading comprehension development. Working memory measures were found to be related with children’s word reading and reading comprehension. The results show that working memory can be seen as a crucial factor in the reading development of literacy among children with special needs, and that interventions to improve working memory may help children becoming more proficient in reading comprehension.     

Working memory capacity and reading skill moderate the effectiveness of strategy training in learning from hypertext

Cognitive and metacognitive strategies are particularly important for learning with hypertext. The effectiveness of strategy training, however, depends on available working memory resources. Thus, especially learners high on working memory capacity can profit from strategy training, while learners low on working memory capacity might easily be overtaxed. In addition, efficient basic reading comprehension processes are important for strategy training to be successful: When both the newly acquired strategies and poorly routinized basic reading comprehension processes compete for working memory resources, navigation within the hypertext and learning might deteriorate rather than improve. In an experiment, 64 undergraduates learned with a comprehensive expository hypertext after receiving either a cognitive or a metacognitive or no strategy training. In line with the predictions, learners high on working memory capacity or reading skill could profit from learning strategy training in terms of learning outcomes and the quality of their navigational behavior. Learners low on working memory capacity or reading skill, in contrast, performed worse in both training conditions compared to the control condition. The improvement in learning outcomes for skilled learners as well as the impairment in learning outcomes for unskilled learners could be shown to be indirect effects mediated by the quality of navigational behavior.     

Assessing working memory capacity in a non-native language

The present studies directly test the usefulness of two English-language working memory capacity (WMC) assessments with two samples of students whose native language was not English. Participants completed two widely used complex span tasks, Reading Span (RSpan) and Operation Span (OSpan), in English. To determine whether the well-established relationship between WMC and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) would be observed when span tasks were not given in the native language of the participant, span scores were regressed against performance on the RAPM. Results indicated that while OSpan was a reliable and valid predictor of RAPM in non-native-English speakers, RSpan administered in English was not.     

The influence of self-efficacy and working memory capacity on problem-solving efficiency

We investigated the influence of self-efficacy beliefs and working memory capacity on mathematical problem-solving performance, response time, and efficiency (i.e., the ratio of problems solved correctly to time). Students completed a letter-recoding task (Experiment 1) or an operation span task (Experiment 2), rated their self-efficacy for solving mental multiplication problems, and then solved similar problems of varying complexity. We tested the motivational efficiency hypothesis, which predicted that motivational beliefs, such as self-efficacy, increase problem-solving efficiency through focused effort and strategy use. Experiments 1 and 2 reported a significant effect for self-efficacy on problem-solving performance and efficiency, but limited effects for time. A self-efficacy by working memory interaction occurred in Experiment 1, suggesting self-efficacy is beneficial as demands on working memory increase. These findings suggested that self-efficacy increased problem-solving efficiency through strategic performance rather than faster solution times, and were consistent with the motivational efficiency hypothesis.     

Taking working memory training from the laboratory into schools

Working memory skills have been shown to be enhanced by adaptive training in several randomised controlled trials. Here, two field trials were conducted in which teachers administered working memory training to their own pupils in school. Twenty-two children aged 8–9?years participated in Trial 1. In Trial 2, 50 children aged 9–11?years with the lowest academic performance completed training. They were matched with a group of 50 children who were not trained. Following training, children in Trial 1 improved significantly in both trained and untrained working memory tasks, with effect sizes comparable to those reported in research studies. Improvements on the trained tasks in Trial 2 were comparable, and training was associated with significantly greater progress at school across the academic year in maths and English. These findings indicate that teacher-administered training leads to generalised and robust gains in working memory and educationally significant gains in academic performance.     

The neural correlates of working memory training in typically developing children

Working memory training improves children's cognitive performance on untrained tasks; however, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms. This was investigated in 32 typically developing children aged 10–14 years (19 girls and 13 boys) using a randomized controlled design and multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (Devon, UK; 2015–2016). Training improved working memory performance and increased intrinsic functional connectivity between the bilateral intraparietal sulci. Furthermore, improvements in working memory were associated with greater recruitment of the left middle frontal gyrus on a complex span task. Repeated engagement of fronto-parietal regions during training may increase their activity and functional connectivity over time, affording greater working memory performance. The plausibility of generalizable cognitive benefits from a neurobiological perspective and implications for neurodevelopmental theory are discussed.     

Orthographic awareness,phonemic awareness,syntactic processing,and working memory skill in hyperlexic children

Children classified as hyperlexic learn to readwords spontaneously before age five, areimpaired in both reading and listeningcomprehension, and exhibit word recognitionskills above their linguistic and cognitiveabilities. Despite their strong wordrecognition skills, previous studies have shownthat the phonemic awareness skills ofhyperlexic children are low and notcommensurate with their word reading skill, inpart because of their limited comprehension of phonemic awareness tasks. Heretofore, a verylimited number of studies have investigateddirectly the orthographic processing, syntacticprocessing, and working memory skills ofchildren with hyperlexia. In the presentstudy, measures of orthographic processing,syntactic processing, and working memory skillwere administered to three hyperlexic childrenand three normally achieving readers; inaddition, measures of phonemic awareness,academic achievement, and cognitive abilitywere also administered. Results showed thatthe hyperlexic children performed aboveexpectations on the orthographic processingmeasures based on their cognitive andlinguistic abilities. The children withhyperlexia did not exhibit orthographic skillsthat were superior to the normally achievingreaders, although ceiling effects on theorthographic tasks may not have allowed them todemonstrate this skill. The three children withhyperlexia achieved lower scores than thenormally achieving readers on the syntacticprocessing measures and had great difficulty onthe phonemic awareness measures. Only one ofthe three hyperlexic children performed at alevel consistent with that of normallyachieving readers on the working memorymeasures. Findings suggest the hyperlexicchildren had levels of orthographic processingsimilar to that of normally achieving readers,read words using strategies similar to those ofnormal readers, and had phonemic awarenessskill that appears to be adequate for wordanalysis but could not be demonstrated ontraditional phonemic awareness measures.     

Goal neglect and working memory capacity in 4- to 6-year-old children

Goal neglect is the phenomenon of failing to execute the momentary demands of a task despite understanding and being able to recall the task instructions. Successful goal maintenance is more likely to occur in adults with high working memory capacity (WMC) who can keep rules mentally accessible while performing the task. The current study predicted that goal neglect would also be related to WMC in children. It assessed thirty-seven 4-year-old and twenty-eight 6-year-old children on the goal neglect version of the Dimensional Change Card Sort, and 3 tasks that measure WMC. As predicted, children with higher WMC scores were more likely to maintain goals adequately for task performance. The findings are consistent with a 2-factor model of working memory and its development.     

浅谈青年教师实验技能培养

青年教师的培养历来受到高校的重视.随着教师队伍日渐年轻化,青年教师实验技能不强等问题逐渐暴露.该文通过对青年教师实验技能培养重要性的论述,提出鼓励青年教师下实验室协助本科实验教学工作,这不仅完成了实验技能培训,也壮大和优化了实验教学队伍,提高了教师队伍的整体业务水平.     

对护理专业学生技能强化训练的研究

护理操作教学体现了实践性、直观性和现实性的统一,既验证了理论知识,又可以培养学生的动手能力和实事求是的科学态度,其质量会直接影响学生职业素质的提高.近几年来.笔者所在学校对护理专业学生不间断地利用课内外时间进行了护理技能的强化训练,取得了良好的效果.     

钢琴演奏技巧的训练方法分析

随着社会的不断发展和教育事业的深入改革,人们越来越注重素质教育重要性。钢琴具有丰富的音色、宽广的音域,钢琴课程对学生音乐素养的提升具有重要作用,由于钢琴演奏具有较强的技巧性,因此,教师应加强对钢琴演奏技巧训练方法的研究,采取有效手段提升学生的演奏能力。本文就钢琴演奏技巧的训练方法进行了研究分析。     

Effects of a memory training program in older people with severe memory loss

ABSTRACT

Strategies based memory training programs are widely used to enhance the cognitive abilities of the elderly. Participants in these training programs are usually people whose mental abilities remain intact. Occasionally, people with cognitive impairment also participate. The aim of this study was to test if memory training designed specifically for healthy people is effective in people with severe memory impairment. We carried out a 10-year retrospective case-control study with Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) and memory complaint measures obtained pre-post training. The case group consisted of 73 people with memory impairment (IM group). The control group (n = 72) was made of individuals with preserved memory and sociodemographic characteristics similar to the case group (PM group). Both groups improved their performance on everyday memory tasks (measured using the RBMT). The IM group improved more than the PM group in everyday memory tasks, especially in prospective memory tasks. Both groups also reduced their level of subjective complaints as a result of training. In conclusion, our results are encouraging with respect to the efficacy of comprehensive memory training programs for older people with severe memory impairment.     

Multimedia learning and individual differences: Mediating the effects of working memory capacity with segmentation

Research in multimedia learning lacks an emphasis on individual difference variables, such as working memory capacity (WMC). The effects of WMC and the segmentation of multimedia instruction were examined by assessing the recall and application of low (n=66) and high (n=67) working memory capacity students randomly assigned to either a segmented instruction (SI) or non-segmented instruction (NSI) version of a multimedia tutorial on historical inquiry. WMC was found to have a significant, positive effect on participants' recall and application scores; however, the use of segmentation mediated the effects of WMC to allow learners with lower WMC to recall and apply equal to those with higher WMC.     

The working memory rating scale: A classroom-based behavioral assessment of working memory

The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of the Working Memory Rating Scale (WMRS), an observer-based rating scale that reflects behavioral difficulties of children with poor working memory. The findings indicate good internal reliability and adequate psychometric properties for use as a screening tool by teachers. Higher (i.e., more problematic) teacher ratings on the WMRS were associated with lower memory scores on direct assessments of working memory skills, as measured by the Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA) and the WISC-IV Working Memory Index. The use of the WMRS will allow educators to draw on their expertise in the classroom for early detection of children with working memory failures.     

技能训练要心智技能和操作技能相结合

讲练一体化教学是实现心智技能和操作技能相结合的有效途径．指导与示范是促进技能形成的关键。符合学生技能训练心理行为特征的要求是：目的明确，方法正确，由易到难，速度适当，方式多样，及时反馈。要运用学习迁移的原理，提高技能训练效果。     

培训中讨论技巧的应用

吴士宏初入中国微软时,发现眼前竟是一个问题成堆的公司,而并不是一个团结高效的团队。为此,她特意从美国请来一位大牌培训师对中层干部进行两天的团队训练课程。训练开始了,培训师的方法是让大家分成小组。不断地提出问题,甚至是不容分说的指令,要求大家讨论解决。他起的作用是鞭策、鼓励、指导、示范、参与。例如: "3分钟之内,每个人写出对微软中国最重要的市场机会,并量化。"     

Effects of working memory capacity in processing wh‐extractions: eye‐movement evidence from Chinese–English bilinguals

By using the eye‐tracking method, the present study explores whether working memory capacity assessed via the second language (L2) reading span (L2WMC) as well as the operational span task (OSPAN) affects the processing of subject‐extraction and object‐extraction in Chinese–English bilinguals. Results showed that L2WMC has no effects on the grammatical judgement accuracies, the first fixation duration, gaze duration, go‐past times and total fixation duration of the critical regions in wh‐extractions. In contrast, OSPAN influences the first fixation duration and go‐past times of the critical regions in wh‐extractions. Specifically, in region 1, (e.g., Who do you think loved the comedian [region 1] with [region 2] all his heart [subject‐extraction]? versus Who do you think the comedian loved [region 1] with [region 2] all his heart? [object‐extraction]), participants with high OSPAN were much slower than those with low OSPAN in their first fixation duration in reading subject‐extractions, whereas there were no differences between participants with different OSPANs in reading object‐extractions. In region 2, participants with high OSPAN were much faster than those with low OSPAN in their go‐past times of object‐extractions. These results indicated that individual differences in OSPAN rather than in L2WMC more strongly affect processing of wh‐extractions. Thus, OSPAN results to be more suitable to explore the influences of working memory while processing L2 sentences with complex syntax, at least for intermediate proficient bilinguals. Results of the study also provide further support for the Capacity Theory of Comprehension.     

英语教育学生教师职业技能培养探索

本文就现阶段高职英语专业学生教师职业技能培养存在的问题进行了分析,并为今后的英语教师职业技能培养提出了切实可行对策与建议。