Working Memory is the Engine of Learning

Working memory is a cognitive function that is crucial for success in all settings. But one of the most important roles working memory plays is in learning. Studies demonstrate the importance of a strong working memory for reading comprehension, mathematics, test taking, impulse control, and other aspects related to understanding and retaining new information.

Review the research below to see how working memory is starting to be seen as one of the strongest indicators of academic success. The studies below are not about Cogmed training, but rather about the importance of working memory for learning.

Year	Publication	Title	Author	Abstract
1990	Intelligence	Reasoning ability is (little more than) working-memory capacity?!	Kyllonen & Christal	Link to abstract
2000	British Journal of Educational Psychology	Working memory deficits in children with low achievements in the national curriculum at seven years of age.	Gathercole & Pickering	Link to abstract
2003	Educational and Child Psychology	Verbal and non-verbal working memory and achievements on national curriculum tests at 11 and 14 years of age.	Jarvis & Gathercole	Link to abstract
2003	Educational and Child Psychology	Working memory assessments at school entry as longitudinal predictors of National Curriculum attainment levels.	Gathercole & Pickering	Link to abstract
2004	Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior	Individual differences in working memory and reading.	Daneman and Carpenter	Link to abstract
2004	Applied Cognitive Psychology	Working memory skills and educational attainment: Evidence from National Curriculum assessments at 7 and 14 years of age.	Gathercole & Pickering	Link to abstract
2005	Educational and Child Psychology	Working memory abilities in children with special educational needs.	Alloway & Gathercole	Link to abstract
2005	British Journal of Developmental Psychology	Working memory and phonological awareness as predictors of progress towards early learning goals at school entry.	Alloway & Gathercole	Link to abstract
2006	Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology	Executive functions and achievements on national curriculum tests: Shifting, updating, inhibition, and working memory.	St Clair-Thompson & Gathercole	Link to abstract
2006	Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology	Working Memory and Children’s Mathematical Skills: Implications for mathematical development and mathematics curricula	Holmes & Adams	Link to abstract
2006	Journal of Experimental Child Psychology	Working memory in children with reading disabilities.	Gathercole & Alloway	Link to abstract
2008	Applied Cognitive Psychology	Working memory abilities and children's performance in laboratory analogues of classroom activities.	Gathercole & Durling	Link to abstract
2008	Learning and Individual Differences	Attentional and executive function behaviours of children with poor working memory.	Gathercole & Alloway	Link to abstract
2010	Learning and Individual Differences	Working memory and mathematics: A review of developmental, individual difference, and cognitive approaches	Raghubar et al.	Link to abstract
2011	Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology	The association between working memory and educational attainment as measured in different mathematical subtopics in the Swedish national assessment: primary education	Nyroos & Wiklund-Hörnqvist	Link to abstract