Creative Teaching and Learning

Metacognition, Memory And Disability

Cognitive training can have a profound impact on a young person's ability to memorise. In this fifth article in our series on metacognition, Professor Keith Topping explores how this is particularly relevant for students with special needs.
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Metacognition and Memory

Metacognition depends on working memory, which is the small amount of information that can be temporarily held in mind and used in the execution of cognitive tasks. It is not the same as short-term memory (which is just about storing information), since working memory implies that information is being held to be manipulated to solve some kind of problem. It also contrasts with long-term memory, which is the vast amount of information saved more or less permanently in one's life. It is fairly obvious that if you cannot keep the parts of a problem in your mind, you are going to have trouble solving the problem with any global or holistic strategy.

The amount of working memory that is forgotten depends on the level of demand of the processing task. This is called 'cognitive load'. Cognitive load depends on two other variables: the rate at which the processing task requires individual steps to be carried out and the duration of each step. Working memory is impaired by psychological stress, anxiety and low self-efficacy. About half of the variation between individuals is related to differences in their genes.

A study of school-age children with significant learning disabilities showed that working memory capacity, but not IQ, predicted learning outcomes two years later (Alloway, 2009). The study also showed that working memory could be enhanced by training, but was most powerful when combined with metacognitive training. Follow-up studies showed sustained gains, with successful near transfer but much less successful far transfer.

Metacognition and Memory: Reviews of Research Evidence

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