Another Executive Functioning Skill and One That is Critical to Learning

This executive functioning skill is referred to as working memory. Do you recall learning math facts and then using those facts to execute long division problems? Do you calculate your restaurant tip in your head, apply it to the bill and pay accordingly? When reading a book, do you recall the plot and characters as you comprehend the overall message and make connections between different parts of the text? In doing all three of these tasks, you were exercising your working memory. You used information that you learned and applied it to a process so that you could get an answer.

Think of working memory as a sticky note in the brain. Working memory is the ability to hold on to information that has been learned and use that information to execute a related task. Let me ask you: Do you look at your grocery list of 6-7 items, commit it to memory, and then head to the store and make the successful purchases? Probably not. You use your phone. Do you ever memorize a phone number or directions? Probably not. I wonder if access to our phones for notes, for calculating, and for Google maps correlate to our decline in working memories. I must say I love all those tools, but has it allowed our brains to get a little less sharp and a whole lot more forgetful? I have a hunch, but I don’t know that studies are conclusive. I wonder what you think.

Children with high working memory capacities learn well in school. This working memory skill depends on self-control and the ability to pay attention which I call subset skills. Do schools test working memory? Not really, but it is an indicator of how well a child WILL learn. Your child’s working memory score is indicated if you do the JATP (Joint Admission Testing Program) for admittance into many Atlanta-area private schools.

Here’s the good news: It is possible to help children develop their working memories. Here are some ways: 1. Give your child 2-3 step directions and have him/her repeat them back to you and then execute. 2. Memorize Bible verses and word definitions. As your child gets older, math facts should be memorized, states and capitals, continents, Preamble to the Constitution, Gettysburg Address, presidents, poems, songs, and so forth. Good schools will require memory work of basic core knowledge. 3. Engage your child in games like Memory and Concentration. 4. Play card games like Go Fish, Crazy Eights, War, and Uno, and when older, play Scrabble. 5. Ask your child comprehension questions when you read a story. 6. Pretend you’re going on a trip and take turns saying the item you’re taking. Each person repeats what the other is taking and adds one more item. Continue until one player can’t remember; the other person is the winner. 7. Teach your child to visualize the plot when reading or being read to. This helps retention. 8. Say as many words as possible that begin with the letter a, or b, etc. and set a timer for an established amount of time.

A few more tips: be consistent with home routines and use visual and verbal cues. Establish routines and keep them consistent. Continue to practice routines until they are automatic. Don’t tell you child what to do, ask him what he needs to do next. Guide him but don’t do the thinking for him. Use post it notes around the house with pictures as visual cues. Requiring verbal cues includes a child repeating each task aloud before he/she begins. That way, you’ll know if he/she knows what to do, or if he/she is choosing not to do. The brain pathways are pliable so yes, we can all improve in the area of working memory.