We know that the working memory capacity, information retention time and utilization efficiency of the human brain are all different, and the difference in working memory ability is likely to be the reason for the differences in children's computing ability, reading ability, logical thinking ability and other aspects.
Therefore, the importance of improving working memory ability is self-evident for children, especially during the critical period of adolescent brain development, and it is a good choice to use neuroplasticity to train children to improve working memory.
Before discussing the specific method, let's understand by analogy: if our brain is compared to a computer, then long-term memory is equivalent to a "hard disk", which stores a large amount of information (knowledge that we already have and remembered); Working memory, on the other hand, is equivalent to "memory", and the stored information is only used by the CPU to perform tasks temporarily, and the information disappears after the task is processed, and is either overwritten by new information or stored on the hard disk.
After the analogy, it should be easy to understand the corresponding methods for improving working memory.
1. RespectBrainThe law of development - rational use of existing "memory".
In childhood, due to the relatively small working memory capacity, we need to respect this objective reality and not give them too many instructions at a time, especially for preschool children (after school age can be adjusted according to the actual situation of the child), the number of instructions is best controlled to less than 4. For example, when asking children to tidy up the room or help with household chores, talking too much at once will not only cause children to be in a hurry, but they may also feel frustrated because they cannot remember "memory overflow", and parents are impatient, and over time, children are likely to gradually lack confidence in their memory and other abilities.
Next time you want to say to your child, "Put the books back on the shelves, put the toys back in the boxes, put the clothes in the dirty basket, put the shoes back in the shoe rack, and go wash the .......", you may wish to pause, wait for your child to finish one thing before the next, and let your child develop the habit of using the list after a long time.
This is very important. If the child needs to do more than 10 things, but the law of working memory capacity tells us that the child can only store 4 at a time, then let these items line up, 4 in a group, only 1 group at a time, and then deal with the next group after processing this group. First come, first served, queued, this is what we often call to do list, study, work, and life.
Habits are important, and we will find that many highly effective people are not necessarily very smart or even have great memorization, but they are able to organize their work and life in an orderly manner, mainly because they are good at using methods.
Just like a computer with limited memory, we can optimize the program to run more efficiently.
2. Key training informationGrabbingTrick – Compress information and save "memory" space
For example, in the math class, the teacher came up with a question: "The circular track of the experimental primary school is 400 meters long, Xiao Ming rides a bicycle for 450 meters per minute, and Xiaohong runs for 250 meters per minute. ”
You will notice that the children's responses vary greatly, and some children may still be thinking, "Which experimental elementary school is it?" Why is Ming riding a bicycle instead of Hong? The good student has already given the correct answer. The questions are very long and may have exceeded their working memory capacity, and the advantage of good students is that they can quickly grasp the key points of the topic and "compress" the information.
For example, in the question, "the circular track is 400 meters, the speed of the two people is 450 meters and 250 meters respectively, and they start from the same place and direction at the same time" These are the key information, and other information such as which school the track is in, whether it is Xiao Ming or Xiao Hong, whether it is a bicycle or a run, etc., does not matter.
For example, when reading a picture book or telling a story to a child, remind him to remember the time, place, people and events of the story, and then use one or two sentences to connect these key information and repeat it to us. Or before going to the supermarket with the kids, discuss what we need to buy today, vegetables? Fruit? How many things will be bought in total? Encourage your child to focus on memorizing key information such as variety and quantity.
With the help of some charting tools, it is also a great way to help children develop the habit of grabbing key information. For example, we often talk about mind maps, in which bubble charts can help children quickly grasp the important characteristics of things, and flow charts and cause and effect charts can help children grasp the key points and causes and consequences of the development process of events.
These diagrams may seem simple, but the key is to start using them from an early age, so that your child can develop the habit of thinking that when he encounters a problem, he can immediately call on these tools in his mind to help him grasp the key information. For example, when children can't write, encourage them to draw flowcharts by doodling to capture the key points of the picture book story.
After grasping the key information, the total amount of information is reduced, and even if the "memory" space is not large, it can be installed, and it is easy to handle.
putWorking memory is converted into long-term memory – transferring the contents of "memory" to "hard disk".
Not only is the capacity of working memory small, but it also has a limited storage time, and if it is not processed in time, it will be erased (forgotten). Therefore, we have to find a way to move them to a safe place – the long-term memory zone.
For another example, how do you remember the ** number? One is to keep silently reciting in your heart until you can reflexively say it; Or connect it to your existing knowledge, for example, 13937373721, we divide this number into 3 parts: "139", "3737", "3721", this kind of grouping blocks is not difficult to remember, and we find that this will be remembered more solidly, because it establishes a connection with the existing knowledge in my "long-term memory" area, and the content of the long-term memory area will absorb this new knowledge through these connections.
Learning is similar, and we need to help children get into the habit of making connections between new and existing information. For example, when students are writing words, prompt them to think of familiar examples, such as the word "light", which is the light of "luminous", and the light of "bright" is the light of "the bright moonlight in front of the bed"; When he learns that pandas are bears instead of cats, encourage him to think about the difference between pandas and cats and bears. When learning about the characteristics of triangular pyramids, ask him to think about the similarities and differences between triangular pyramids and cubes. You can also use a double bubble map in a mind map to help consolidate, such as a math assignment.
This practice can help children better remember the knowledge they are learning, and more importantly, keep practicing, so that children can develop the habit of comparison and association, and when they encounter new information and new knowledge, they will immediately sort out the connection between it and the original knowledge, that is, the habit of transferring the information in the fleeting "memory" to a safer place - the "hard disk".
Targeted working memory training- Improve the capacity and performance of "memory".
The above three methods are all to help children make better use of their existing "working memory", and the following training methods will help children increase the capacity and duration of "working memory".
Researchers have tested a very simple way to improve children's working memory: children aged 6-8 years are asked to train for 10 minutes a day for two months. The training task is to provide a number or a word every second, with an interval of one second each. For example, a sequence might be 8, 5, 7, 9 with an interval of 1 second between each number. Then ask the child, "Which position in the sequence is a 7?" Or, "What's the third item in the sequence?" Experiments have found that such exercises are really helpful for children's "working memory".
Many of the memory training methods we see today stem from this design idea, and the function is similar, which is to constantly let players use and challenge "working memory". It is highly recommended that you not only improve the capacity and duration of your "working memory" through training, but also find the most suitable memory method for yourself.
Improving working memory is a step-by-step process that requires both parents and children to work together. Through correct scientific methods and tools, it can help children improve their learning efficiency and reduce learning pressure, and at the same time, they can also enhance the parent-child relationship and grow together in the process of improving memory.