Working Memory Training on Children: A Crucial Boost in Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills
A recent study suggests that strengthening young children's working memory (WM), could have long-term benefits for their academic success.
Researchers conducted a randomized educational intervention with a sample of first graders and found that visuo-spatial working memory training embedded in regular school lessons led to substantial immediate and lasting gains in geometry and reading skills, impulse control and children’s fluid Intelligence.
Ernst Fehr, Professor of Microeconomics and Experimental Economics at the Department of Economics and Director of the UBS Center for Economics in Society, alongside his co-authors, examined the causal impact of working memory training embedded in regular school lessons by a randomized educational intervention involving a sample of 6–7 year old first graders.
The randomized controlled trial revealed short and long term gains in visuo-spatial working memory capacity. However, what truly stands out is the spillover effect on other critical abilities. A year after the intervention, children showed significant improvements in geometry and reading skills, Raven’s fluid IQ measure, and the ability to inhibit instinctive impulses - crucial skills for problem-solving, logical reasoning, and self-regulation.
The study also documents a significant impact on school career decisions in the German education system. Children who were exposed to the adaptive working memory training during class are more likely to enroll in the advanced track of secondary school (Gymnasium), which has long-term implications for university attendance and future earnings.
The findings provide novel evidence consistent with the dynamic process of skill formation and suggest that the working memory treatment generated substantial benefits for the children.
