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What’s Working in Working Memory Training? An Educational Perspective

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Abstract

Working memory training programs have generated great interest, with claims that the training interventions can have profound beneficial effects on children’s academic and intellectual attainment. We describe the criteria by which to evaluate evidence for or against the benefit of working memory training. Despite the promising results of initial research studies, the current review of all of the available evidence of working memory training efficacy is less optimistic. Our conclusion is that working memory training produces limited benefits in terms of specific gains on short-term and working memory tasks that are very similar to the training programs, but no advantage for academic and achievement-based reading and arithmetic outcomes.

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Correspondence to Thomas S. Redick.

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Footnotes

Other studies considered but not included, and the reasons why: no academic outcomes (Goldin et al. 2013; Holmes and Gathercole 2014, Experiment 1; Horvat 2014; Jaeggi et al. 2011; Pugin et al. 2014; Roughan and Hadwin 2011; Shavelson et al. 2008; Thorell et al. 2009; Wang et al. 2014; Zhao et al. 2011), combination of working memory training and another type of training (Aries et al. 2014, Experiment 1; Soderqvist et al. 2012), and no working memory transfer assessed in same sample as achievement tests assessed (Dahlin 2011, 2013; Holmes and Gathercole 2014, Experiment 2; Loosli et al. 2011; Mansur-Alves et al. 2012).

While working on this manuscript, TSR was supported by the Office of Naval Research (Award # N00014-12-1-1011) and National Institutes of Health (Award # 2R01AA013650-11A1) and MM-L by the Norwegian Research Council, grant Education 2020.

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Redick, T.S., Shipstead, Z., Wiemers, E.A. et al. What’s Working in Working Memory Training? An Educational Perspective. Educ Psychol Rev 27, 617–633 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9314-6

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