Making working memory really work: From the research laboratory to schools and beyond

The term "working memory" describes our ability to hold information in mind and manipulate if necessary for brief periods of time in the course of ongoing everyday activities. The capacity of working memory is limited and, in some children, very small. Over 80 per cent of children with poor working memory will fail to achieve the expected standards at school, largely because their memory is overloaded in classroom learning activities.
There are two key approaches for remediating the difficulties faced by children with working memory impairments. The first is a classroom-based intervention in which teachers employ a variety of methods to minimise working memory failures. The second involves training memory capacity directly through a computerised programme.
The aim of this project is to support two field trials of the classroom-based intervention and working memory training programme for children with poor working memory. It will also support a range of outreach activities designed to make the research findings accessible to potential users. These will include conferences and workshops for relevant professional groups, providing information to the general public through the web and other media, and preparing and disseminating briefings of best practice in the effective management of working memory problems to relevant policy-makers.

工作记忆（working memory）指的是我们在日常活动过程中，将信息暂时保存在大脑中并根据需要进行处理的能力。工作记忆的容量有限，部分儿童的工作记忆容量尤其小。超过80%的工作记忆较差儿童无法达到学校预期的学业标准，这主要是因为他们在课堂学习活动中会出现记忆过载的情况。

针对工作记忆损伤儿童面临的困难，主要有两种核心干预方法。第一种是基于课堂的干预措施，教师通过多种方法最大限度地减少工作记忆失效的发生；第二种则是通过计算机程序直接训练记忆容量。

本项目旨在支持针对工作记忆较差儿童的课堂干预方案与工作记忆训练方案的两项实地试验。此外，项目还将支持一系列推广活动，以确保研究成果能够被潜在用户获取。这些活动包括：为相关专业群体举办会议和研讨会、通过网络及其他媒体向公众提供信息，以及编制并向相关政策制定者传播关于有效管理工作记忆问题的最佳实践简报。