Teaching primary pupils strategies to support their working
memory and getting them to practise these by playing online games
can boost their maths results by three months, according to new
research published by the Education Endowment
Foundation (EEF) today.
127 primary schools took part in the trial
of Improving Working Memory, a
programme delivered by a team from
the University of Oxford and
designed to improve maths skills in year 3 pupils (7-8
year-olds).
The programme builds on evidence from cognitive science which
suggests difficulties getting to grips with maths can be down to
poor working memory, which is the ability to hold and manipulate
information in your mind while you use it to finish a task. For
example, this could be how many numbers you can keep in your mind
at the same time to complete a mental arithmetic task.
The schools taking part in the EEF trial were asked to identify
seven- and eight-year olds who were struggling with their maths.
Over the course of a term, these pupils took part in 10 one-hour
sessions delivered by teaching assistants (TAs) outside the
classroom. The TAs worked with the pupils to teach them different
strategies to help them retain information in their working
memory. These included repeating the things they needed to
remember and assigning them to one of their fingers.
The pupils practised using these strategies through games, which
they played at school through guided practice with a TA, and
through online games, which they played independently. In one
computer game, pupils had to count animals while ignoring
‘gremlins’. At the end of each round pupils had to recall the
number of animals of each species – like ducks or monkeys – that
they had counted.
This trial tested two versions of the
intervention: the Improving Working
Memory intervention and an adapted
version, Working Memory Plus. The
Working Memory Plus intervention followed the same format as the
Improving Working Memory intervention, but only five of the 10
sessions were focused on working memory, while the other five
were focused on arithmetic content.
The independent evaluation by a team of researchers from
the Behavioural Insights Team and
the National Institute of Economic and Social
Research (NIESR) found that pupils who received
either version of the intervention made the equivalent of 3
additional months’ progress in maths, on average, compared to a
similar group of pupils in schools who were not offered the
intervention. These findings – which have a very high level of
security – suggest that focusing on working memory can be an
effective way to boost maths skills for primary school
pupils. The evaluation also found positive impacts on
attention and behaviour in class for pupils receiving the
interventions.
The children eligible for free school meals (FSM) in the Working
Memory group made one additional month’s progress in maths
compared to similar pupils in the schools who were not offered
the intervention. However, FSM-eligible pupils in the Working
Memory Plus group made no more progress than a similar group of
pupils. These results have a lower security rating because of the
smaller number of pupils.
These findings build on a large body of research by the EEF that
finds that, when deployed to deliver targeted interventions
in one-to-one or small group settings, teaching assistants can
help deliver as much as an extra term’s learning to
pupils. Earlier research had suggested schools struggle to
train and support teaching assistants in ways that make a
difference to pupils’ attainment.
The EEF is exploring the possibility of
testing Improving Working Memory at a
larger scale.
Sir , Chief Executive of the
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), said:
“Many pupils struggle with maths anxiety from a young age which
can hold back their learning. Often this is linked to their
working memory and how well they can do sums in their head. Those
who fall behind usually struggle to catch-up with their
classmates later in school, so it’s important that schools and
teachers have access to evidence-based programmes and resources
to support those children falling behind.
“In our trial, pupils played online games that aimed to improve
their maths skills by developing their working memory. The
independent evaluation found that the pupils that took part made
three months more progress than those who did now. This tells us
that it could be a good way for schools to help struggling pupils
catch-up with their classmates.”
