Measures and References: Working Memory

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Measures

Numerous measures exist to gain a full picture of a student's learning strengths and challenges. Following are examples of measures used to assess this Learner Factor. These measures should be administered and interpreted by experienced professionals.

Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF): Measures, through the Working Memory subscale consisting of both parent and teacher questionnaires, the Working Memory in students from five to 18 years old.

Reading or Listening Span (e.g., Daneman & Carpenter, 1980): Measures verbal Working Memory by asking students to remember verbal information while concurrently performing other cognitive tasks, for example, reading a series of individually presented sentences and recalling the final word from each, in order.

References

Alloway, T. P., Gathercole, S. E., Kirkwood, H., & Elliott, J. (2009). The Working Memory Rating Scale: A classroom-based behavioral assessment of working memory. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(2), 242-245.

Arrington, C. N., Kulesz, P. A., Francis, D. J., Fletcher, J. M., & Barnes, M. A. (2014). The contribution of attentional control and working memory to reading comprehension and decoding. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18(5), 325-346.

Baddeley, A. (2000). The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417-423.

Borella, E., Ghisletta, P., & De Ribaupierre, A. (2011). Age differences in text processing: The role of working memory, inhibition, and processing speed. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66(3), 311-320.

Budde, H., Voelcker-Rehage, C., Pietrassyk-Kendziorra, S., Machado, S., Ribeiro, P., & Arafat, A. M. (2010). Steroid hormones in the saliva of adolescents after different exercise intensities and their influence on working memory in a school setting. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 35(3), 382-391.

Christopher, M. E., Keenan, J. M., Hulslander, J., Defries, J. C., Miyake, A., & Wadsworth, S. J. (2016). The genetic and environmental etiologies of the relations between cognitive skills and components of reading ability. Journal of Experimental General Psychology, 145(4), 451-566.

Daneman, M., & Carpenter, P. A. (1980). Individual differences in working memory and reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 19(4), 450-466.

DePrince, A. P., Weinzierl, K. M., & Combs, M. D. (2009). Executive function performance and trauma exposure in a community sample of children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(6), 353-361.

Duan, X., Wei, S., Wang, G., & Shi, J. (2010). The relationship between executive functions and intelligence on 11- to 12-year- old children. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling, 52(4), 419-431.

Farah, M. J., Shera, D. M., Savage, J. H., Betancourt, L., Giannetta, J. M., Brodsky, N., … E.K., Hurt, H. (2006). Childhood poverty: Specific associations with neurocognitive development. Brain Research, 1110, 166-174.

Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Guy, S. C., & Kenworthy, L. (2000). Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function: BRIEF. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Graham, S., & Santangelo, T. (2014). Does spelling instruction make students better spellers, readers, and writers? A meta-analytic review. Reading and Writing, 27(9), 1703-1743.

Hofmann, W., Schmeichel, B. J., & Baddeley, A. D. (2012). Executive functions and self-regulation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(3), 174-180.

Hoskyn, M., & Swanson, H. L. (2003). The relationship between working memory and writing in younger and older adults. Reading and Writing, 16(8), 759-784.

Kail, R., & Salthouse, T. A. (1994). Processing speed as a mental capacity. Acta Psychologica, 86(2-3), 199-225.

Kamijo, K., Pontifex, M. B., O'Leary, K. C., Scudder, M. R., Wu, C. T., Castelli, D. M., & Hillman, C. H. (2011). The effects of an afterschool physical activity program on working memory in preadolescent children. Developmental Science, 14(5), 1046-1058.

Khurana, A., Romer, D., Betancourt, L. M., Brodsky, N. L., Giannetta, J. M., & Hurt, H. (2013). Working memory ability predicts trajectories of early alcohol use in adolescents: The mediational role of impulsivity. Addiction, 108(3), 506-515.

Kofler, M. J., Singh, L. J., Soto, E. F., Chan, E. S. M., Miller, C. E., Harmon, S. L., & Spiegel, J. A. (2020). Working memory and short-term memory deficits in ADHD: A bifactor modeling approach. Neuropsychology, 34(6), 686-698.

Kofler, M. J., Spiegel, J. A., Soto, E. F., Irwin, L. N., Wells, E. L., & Austin, Kristen, E. (2019). Do working memory deficits underlie reading problems in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47(3), 433-446

Leonard, L. B., Weismer, S. E., Miller, C. A., Francis, D. J., Tomblin, J. B., & Kail, R. V. (2007). Speed of processing, working memory, and language impairment in children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50(2), 408-428.

Lustig, C., May, C., & Hasher, L. (2001). Working memory span and the role of proactive interference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(2), 199-207.

Owens, M., Stevenson, J., Hadwin, J. A., & Norgate, R. (2014). When does anxiety help or hinder cognitive test performance? The role of working memory capacity. British Journal of Psychology, 105(1), 92-101.

McCutchen, D. (2011). From novice to expert: Implications of language skills and writing-relevant knowledge for memory during the development of writing skill. Journal of Writing Research, 3(1), 51-68.

McVay, J. C., & Kane, M. J. (2012). Why does working memory capacity predict variation in reading comprehension? On the influence of mind wandering and executive attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141(2), 302.

Moran, C., & Gillon, G. (2005). Inference comprehension of adolescents with traumatic brain injury: A working memory hypothesis. Brain Injury, 19(10), 743-751.

Pickering, S., & Gathercole, S. (2001). Working Memory Test Battery for Children. London: Psychological Corporation.

Poon, K. (2018). Hot and cool executive functions in adolescence: Development and contributions to important developmental outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(2311), 1-18.

Rose, L. T., & Rouhani, P. (2012). Influence of Verbal Working Memory Depends on Vocabulary: Oral Reading Fluency in Adolescents With Dyslexia. Mind, Brain, and Education, 6(1), 1-9.

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Schmader, T., Johns, M., & Forbes, C. (2008). An integrated process model of stereotype threat effects on performance. Psychological Review, 115(2), 336-356.

Smith-Spark, J. H., & Gordon, R. (2022). Automaticity and executive abilities in developmental dyslexia: A theoretical review. Brain Sciences, 12(4), 446.

Steenari, M. R., Vuontela, V., Paavonen, E. J., Carlson, S., Fjallberg, M., & Aronen, E. T. (2003). Working memory and sleep in 6-to 13-year-old schoolchildren. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(1), 85-92.

Swanson, L., & Kim, K. (2007). Working memory, short-term memory, and naming speed as predictors of children's mathematical performance. Intelligence, 35, 151-168

Vanderberg, R., & Swanson, H. L. (2007). Which components of working memory are important in the writing process?. Reading and Writing, 20(7), 721-752.

Vetter, N. C., Altgassen, M., Phillips, L., Mahy, C. E. V., & Kliegel, M. (2013). Development of affective theory of mind across adolescence: Disentangling the role of executive functions. Developmental Neuropsychology, 38(2), 114-125.