Children's Poor Performance May be a Memory Problem

Submitted by Judy Hanning on Mon, 2010-12-27 07:41

In many cases, when a child performs poorly in school, the assumption is that they just aren't very smart. But oftentimes, there's something actually wrong with their ability to remember what they learned.

Of course, that also means when a child is not performing well, parents are disappointed to feel they have not done enough to help. But it's entirely possible that a child's learning problems could be with how their brain actually functions -- not low intelligence, but their memory.

What research reveals

According to research by Dr. Tracy Alloway of Durham University, a study of three-thousand children found that ten percent of school children across all age ranges experience poor working memory. Though this is something that can severely affect learning, "poor working memory is rarely identified by teachers, who often describe children with this problem as inattentive or as having lower levels of intelligence."

Children are not typically identified and assessed for working memory within a classroom setting.

The need to identify

Working memory is important for every student in order to retain the information taught and shared in school. The research done by at Durham University is a positive move to veer away from always thinking that students who aren't performing have low intelligence or a learning disorder. Children are not typically identified and assessed for working memory within a classroom setting, as the article says. "Early identification of these children will be a major step towards addressing under-achievement. It will mean teachers can adapt their methods to help the children's learning before they fall too far behind their peers."

Key Takeaways:

1
When a child performs poorly, the problem may be their own memory.
2
A research study showed that 10% of children have memory problems.
3
Identifying these children, and not incorrectly classifying them as having low intelligence, is the first step to helping.

There are specific brain exercises and games you can do with your child to begin to compensate in these areas, and we'd love to help you discover them.
Our simple online analysis tool can help you find what areas need strengthened

Tweet mentions: 
@durham_uni