As scientists and researchers continue their work to try to unravel how the various components of cognition function together and develop, NACD has been working to try to ascertain the most effective and efficient ways to positively impact that function. By working with thousands of individuals over many years, ranging in function from severely brain injured to accelerated learners and from newborn to geriatric, the staff of NACD has been able to assess firsthand how various neurological functions impact the whole person.

Short-Term Memory

Decades ago the founder of NACD, Robert J. Doman, Jr., was aware that a strong short-term memory could have a positive impact on the rest of cognitive function. He further discovered that once the short-term memory began to get stronger, higher-level cognitive function was able to expand, and more complex thinking improved. He and his staff began looking at ways to affect short-term memory as well as higher-level function. These strategies have evolved over the decades into a broader set of targeted interventions used to strengthen the generalization of improvement. As we review scientific studies in areas of cognition, we find an expanding vocabulary of neurological functions with a further breaking down of how researchers think these various functions work together and develop. What we find, however, is that the underlying premises upon which NACD was founded continue to be supported by this research into the structures of the brain.

The NACD Model

The NACD model of cognitive function recognizes various components of thinking and learning. Of all of these functions, working memory, including executive function, encompasses the areas that impact simple and complex behavior regulation and problem solving the most. The development of various parts of executive function appears to be a good indicator of future academic success, as well as future life success. Mathematics, reading, and critical thinking are all affected by how well various components of executive function develop and work.

Not only do these neurological functions impact academics, but NACD and researchers also find that they impact social skills, job skills, and the skills needed for a child or adult to navigate daily life independently. Time management, time awareness, goal setting and planning, organizational skills, social awareness, financial planning, running a household, writing a research paper, writing a paragraph, and forming thoughts into conversation are all functions that depend on this higher cognitive level referred to as working memory and executive function. Decades ago, Robert Doman realized that as these higher-level cognitive functions improved, it resulted in generalized functional improvement in the individual. As we investigate specific components of cognition, we need to keep in mind that the scientific community, as well as the NACD staff, is continuing to learn and explore how these various components affect each other.

Inhibition

A key component related to behavior and attention is inhibition. This ability to self-regulate is believed to start to develop in young children as an independent cognitive function that is later a part of working memory. Inhibition refers to the ability to stop a previously learned response or an impulsive response. An example of this might be a child stopping an action they were about to do in response to a parent saying, “no” or “don’t touch.” This very early level of inhibition is not yet working memory developing, but rather the development of inhibition as a separate function. When we think of very young children, individuals with delayed processing, and some individuals with sensory processing difficulties, we see that there is frequently a great deal of impulsivity and lack of sustained attention. Inhibition is the ability to stop that immediate, impulsive response, whether it means not grabbing something that you want or not throwing an object that you are not permitted to throw.

In children the ability to inhibit behavior that would cause errors is based on the strength of their “rule systems”(Zelazo et al 2003). The strength of these neurological processes determines a child’s ability to follow classroom rules, not run away from a parent in public, not scream when frustrated, not get up in the middle of a task or eat off of someone else’s plate. In adults inhibition at a higher level of complexity prevents the adult from failing to complete work tasks, spending the day on social media instead of doing assigned work, or even avoiding watching television when there is housework that needs to be done. Progress in inhibition continues into adulthood. Unlike children, adults become increasingly aware of their errors or inhibition failures. Adults will even slow down the pace of a timed task when they become aware of increased errors (Hogan, Vargha-Khadem, Kirkham, Baldeweg 2005).

Several decades ago NACD developed software and other targeted interventions to engage short-term memory and inhibition, as well as other executive functions. These activities continue to be expanded to include greater levels of varied cognitive functions. From intensity activities to higher level working memory capacity activities, the Simply Smarter System pushes the individual’s inhibition function as well as working memory. Studies have shown that specific computer-based tasks appear to have functional generalization, even with teens and adults, whereas some other forms of inhibition and working memory tasks did not generalize as well (Holmes, Gathercole, Dunning 2009, Klingberg et al 2005, Kraback, Kray2009). Working memory training that demanded a high level of working memory, according to Constantinidis and Klingberg (2016), improved functional conductivity between specific areas of the brain. This improved conductivity is believed to be the basis of plasticity, according to these researchers.

We know that inhibition becomes more complex when we add new rules and more required responses (Best, Miller 2010). Switching, which will be discussed further, and adding more rules to tasks work inhibition as well as other executive function skills (Miyake et al 2000). NACD discovered this several decades ago and added layers and levels of conflicting rules and added required manipulation of short-term memory information that rigorously works this part of cognitive function. In these activities, which are part of the Simply Smarter System, we are asking the individual to set aside, or inhibit, the first set of rules for an activity and apply a set of new rules. This requires greater inhibition and retention of a larger body of information, which is then being applied to specific sets of short-term memory storage. So as we add greater complexity to the inhibition tasks, we call on greater cognitive function (D’Esposito, Postle, Ballard, Lease 1999).

Working Memory & Executive Function

As the brain becomes better able to handle this greater level of complexity, how it functions changes. Studies have shown that as individuals become better able to complete these more complex tasks, the brain becomes more localized, or specific, in how it functions. In other words, as the brain is developing, it first tends to activate larger areas when trying to complete a specific task or respond to specific input. As the brain becomes more adept at completing more complex tasks, it begins to be able to localize the very specific areas of the brain needed to complete those tasks. The brain quite simply becomes more efficient. (Morton, Bosma and Ansari 2009).

NACD has dedicated many targeted activities to working memory due to its enormous neurological role. According to Robert Doman, “Working memory is the foundation for global neurological maturity and function.” It essentially encompasses most of what we think of as “thinking.” Working memory is what we use to put together relationships between new information and previously known information in new and novel ways. It is what we use not only to understand language spoken to us, or language we read, but also to combine our own thoughts into logical units of words to communicate those thoughts to others. Working memory allows us to form limitless new thoughts by allowing new combinations of information to be formed (Oberauer 2009).

In the case of reading, the working memory loads the information in units, which are chunked or condensed for meaning. The units are broken up based on sentences. The chunks are temporarily processed by the short-term memory and then stored and manipulated in the working memory. Pronouns within the text require that the brain rehearse the previous information to locate the subject of that pronoun. At times the working memory pulls in sensory information or visualization to help solidify and support the meaning of a chunk of words (Marchetti 2014).

The executive function related to the process of holding on to relevant information and changing it as needed as new relevant information is acquired is called updating. Updating allows the working memory to keep information in an organized way if it is pertinent and dropping it if it is not. Updating also allows the working memory to replace old information with new. Higher level Simply Smarter activities, which require reorganization of information introduced in the short-term memory, address the working memory so that information is sustained for a longer period of time, allowing for better assimilation of meaning and better recall. The activities work different components of working memory and executive function.

Many people have difficulty planning and setting goals, even simple goals such as what they are doing tomorrow. This too is a working memory function. The working memory allows individuals to think about hypothetical situations and imagine the future (Hill, Emery 2013). A poorly functioning working memory results in an individual who is unable to plan for a future that the brain cannot construct. The impact this has behaviorally is enormous. Our adult lives are so dependent upon our ability to set attainable goals and foresee future obstacles. Without a strong working memory, our ability to do this would be poor.

There are also many people, both children and adults, who have little sense of the passage of time. As a result their ability to manage their responsibilities is poor. For students the strategies needed to handle a timed test or get ready for school in a timely fashion may be severely impaired. Parents complain of their children and young adults having “no sense of time.” The working memory deals with multiple issues when it comes to understanding time. In order to have a sense of time, an individual must be able to compare one length of time with another. This is done by understanding or experiencing the length of time a task or event takes and holding it in recent memory, while experiencing or understanding how long another task or event is taking. This is quite a load for the working memory capacity to handle, as it requires holding on to information about one thing while experiencing another.

In 2011 researchers Broadway and Engle found that individuals with high working memory capacity, or WMC, were, in fact, quite good at comparing relative lengths of time. The better the working memory is at holding larger amounts of information, the easier it becomes to hold the length of time of one event and compare it to the amount of time it is taking to complete another event. So if we think of individuals who appear efficient and well organized, we speak of time-management “skills,” when what we are actually talking about is high working memory capacity with components such as inhibition and updating working well.

Using Simply Smarter for Working Memory

Decades ago as Robert Doman and the NACD staff began addressing short-term and working memory, the need for these functions to be strong was obvious. The fact that working memory capacity was key to a wide variety of day-to-day functions for children and adults was demonstrated over and over again with the individuals who were evaluated. Clearly if these children and adults had limited working memory capacity, the ability to rate how long they were taking to complete a task would be unknown or at least unclear to them. The reprimands of parents and teachers, of employers and co-workers would not be able to improve their function in this area. Broadway and Engle found that individuals with low working memory capacity found it difficult to judge relative times and were often inaccurate when they tried to do so. Many of the Simply Smarter System activities challenge working memory capacity in various ways. All effort has been made to ensure that the activities are not compromised, allowing the brain to turn them into simplistic memory tasks. They have been refined again and again to address the WMC efficiently and effectively.

This is certainly not all that the working memory controls. If you have ever wondered why some people have such an excellent ability to find their way to places with ease and other people get lost quickly, we must again look at the working memory capacity. Those who are excellent at finding their way and recalling a route are using both their visual spatial memory and their verbal working memory. The better those functions work, the more accurate the individuals are at finding their way (Weisberg, Newcombe 2016). Visual spatial activities are a part of the Simply Smarter System’s varied activities designed to address the many components of working memory.

All of the Simply Smarter activities progress to a level that engages the working memory, and the later activities go further in pushing the executive function and full working memory capacity. Some the activities do so by changing visual spatial input and asking for retention of more and more complex information. Some of the activities require reversing input, given visual or auditory input, or a combination of the two. Others require even more complex reorganizing of the information being given. Many of them require a function referred to as switching or shifting. Switching requires that previously used “rules” be set aside so that new rules can be applied in specific situations. This process also requires the use of inhibition to block the old information or rules. Shifting also requires outside information to prompt the shift, which, in the case of Simply Smarter, is triggered by a change within the activity or the introduction of a new activity. These activities each vary in difficulty based on a system that responds to the user’s performance, thereby consistently challenging the individual to use more of his or her working memory capacity, as well as greater levels of executive function.

Research points clearly to the importance of the development of strong working memory and executive function. As research continues to define how various neurological systems develop, work, and function together, we will continue to unravel how these systems impact the day-to-day life of all individuals. We continue to improve our understanding of how the brain responds to stimulation using working memory, short-term memory and visual spatial memory to hold on to and manipulate information, as well as inhibition, updating, and switching to handle new challenges. Simply Smarter is designed to work many different components of cognitive function in a way that continues to engage and challenge all of these areas.

Works Cited

Best, JR, Miller PH. “A developmental perspective on executive function.” Child Development. Nov-Dec.6(2010): 1641-1660. PubMed.gov. print. 4 August 2016.

Broadway, JM. , Engle, RW. “Lapsed attention to elapsed time? Individual differences in working memory capacity and temporal re.” Acta Psychologica. May.1(2011): 115-126. PubMed. print. 26 July 2016.

Constantinidis, Christos and Klingberg, Torkel. “The Neuroscience of Working Memory Capacity and Training.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience. May.17(2016): 438-49. online August 2016.

D’Esposito M, Postle BR, Ballard D, Lease J. “Maintenance versus manipulation of information held in working memory: an event-related fMRI study.” Brain and Cognition. 41.October(1999): 66-86. PubMed. print. 20 July 2016.

Hill PF, Emery LJ. “Episodic future thought: contributions from working memory.” Consciousness and Cognition. 22.Sept.(2013): 677-683. PubMed. print. 27 July 2016.

Hogan AM, Vargha-Khadem F, Kirkham FJ. Baldeweg T. “Maturation of action monitoring from adolescence to adulthood: an ERP study.” Developmental Science. 8.Nov(2005): 525-534. PubMed. print. 15 July 2016.

Holmes J, Gathercole SE, Dunning DL. “Adaptive training leads to sustained enhancement of poor working memory in children.” Developmental Science. 12.July(2009): 9-15. PubMed. print. 8 July 2016.

Karbach J, Kray J. “How useful is executive control training? Age differences in near and far transfer of task-switchin.” Developmental Science. Nov.6(2009): 978-90. PubMed. print. 16 July 2016.

Klingberg T, Fernell E, Olesen PJ, Johnson M, Gustafsson P, Dahlström K, Gillberg CG, Forssberg H,. “Computerized training of working memory in children with ADHD–a randomized, controlled trial.” Journal of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Feb.2(2005): 177-86. PubMed. online. 17 July 2016.

Marchetti G. “Attention and working memory: two basic mechanisms for constructing temporal experiences.” Frontiers in Psychology. August.5(2014): n.pag. PubMed. online. 20 July 2016.

Miyake A, Friedman NP, Emerson MJ, Witzki AH, Howerter A, Wager TD. “The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “Frontal Lobe” ta.” Cognitive Psychology. August.1(2000): 49-100. PubMed. print. 15 July 2016.

Morton JB, Bosma R, Ansari D. “Age-related changes in brain activation associated with dimensional shifts of attention: an fMRI st.” NeuroImage. May.46(2009): 249-56. PubMed. print. 17 July 2016.

Oberauer K. “Declarative and Procedural Working Memory: Comm on Principles, Comm on Capacity Limits?.” Psychologica Belgica. 10.5334(2009): n.pag. google. print. 18 July 2016.

Weisberg SM, Newcombe NS. “How do (some) people make a cognitive map? Routes, places, and working memory.” Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory and Cognition. May.5(2016): 768-85. PubMed. print. 14 July 2016.

Zelazo PD1, Müller U, Frye D, Marcovitch S, Argitis G, Boseovski J, Chiang JK, Hongwanishkul D, Sch. “The development of executive function in early childhood.” Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 68.2(2003): n.pag. PubMed. print. 20 July 2016

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 29 No. 2, 2016 ©NACD

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Abstract

In order to see the effects of short-term memory on standardized achievement scores, this study compared the auditory and visual digit spans of 546 students (from a private school located in the Southeastern part of the United States) to their scores on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT). The data shows that as digit span increases, so does performance on the SAT; it also reveals higher digit spans correlating with higher grade-level function. These results imply that improving their auditory and visual processing would enable students to achieve higher levels of academic work.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 10 No. 6, 1996 ©NACD

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Click here to read the study (PDF)

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At a K-12 school in Rural Louisiana, the principal and staff, in collaboration with the National Association for Child Development designed a model intended to increase the cognitive processing of identified at-risk students. A second, less intense part of the program targeted the general population of students. The Fairview Neuroeducational model (FNM) was funded through a grant from the Rapides Foundation and resource donations from the national academy for Child Development. The results at the end of the school year showed significant improvements with both groups. The benefits to the general population of students were measured by increased scores on state mandated tests. With the at-risks students, substantial progress was reflected within the scores of standardized testing for reading recognition, reading comprehension and math computation. Within an eight month time period, tests scores increased at a level of approximate 2.9 years in reading recognition, 3.0 years in reading comprehension and 1.67 years in math computation.

Click here to read the complete research study (PDF)

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 15 No. 2, 2002 ©NACD

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“Hello, NACD has stressed the importance and development of short-term and working memory since the inception of the organization in 1979. We have also been developing software to work on these critical skills since the early 80s, including the Simply Smarter program and the Simply Smarter Kids app. Research completed in 2011 and 2012 continues to support the critical role that working memory capacity plays in academic performance and language.

In a study published in August of 2012, “Anxiety and Depression in Academic Performance: An Exploration of the Mediating Factors of Worry and Working Memory,” by Matthew Owens, Jim Stevenson, Julie A. Hadwin, and Roger Norgate, they discussed the interplay of worry and anxiety, working memory issues and academic performance. Higher anxiety was tied to lower academic outcomes. There also appeared to be a connection between higher anxiety and worry and how well the working memory was able to function.

In a study published in Research in Science and Technological Education in 2012, Yu-Chien Chu and Norman Reid found that working memory capacity was a key factor in whether or not students were able to succeed in learning the material in Genetics courses. They recommended reducing the demands on the working memory capacity to improve the students’ learning outcomes.

In February of 2012 a study was published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research that was completed by Patrik Sorqvist and J.Ronnberg. The study was looking at the relationship of working memory capacity and the ability of the individual to sort through speech that was intended to be recalled and speech that should be ignored. They found that working memory capacity was key to the brain’s ability to sort through this confusion in relevant versus irrelevant speech.

We see again and again that working memory capacity plays a critical role in learning and understanding the world. This is why it is so essential to address working memory in daily program activities.

Reprinted from the Journal of The NACD Foundation (formerly The National Academy for Child Development), Volume 26 No. 1, 2013 ©NACD

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Baddeley’s model of working memory was published in 1974 (Baddeley, Hitch 1974) and continues to be used by professionals today. Prior to their work, the only part of thinking that had been clearly defined was the short term memory (Atkininson, Shiffrin 1971). According to Baddeley and Hitch (1974), the working memory was responsible for processing information and it had various components that were used to handle information. The working memory was also describe as having a capacity regarding the amount of information that it could handle.

In a study completed Graesser, Singer and Trabasso (1994) their constructionist theory discussed how an individual’s working memory related information that he or she was reading to information that was already known and stored. This had also been discussed in a study done by Daneman and Carpenter ( Daneman, Carpenter,1979), who established that the working memory determined how much information could be stored related to reading comprehension work.

Studies done more recently support the role of the working memory in attention and processing verbal information which are key to reading comprehension (Carretti, Borella, Cornoldi, DeBeni2009). Further studies showed that the performance of the working memory was a good predictor of how well individuals could answer inferential questions in long reading passages if they were not permitted to go back and reread the material (Andreassen, Braten 2010). Working memory was also found to be the key factor in understanding sentences being read in a second language (Kashiwagi 2011). In students demonstrating learning difficulties or deficits in reading comprehension, Pimperton’s study showed that these issues were tied to the working memory function (Pimperton, Nation 2010). In fact, the verbal working memory was found to be the best indicator of reading comprehension difficulties (Macaruso, Shankweiler 2010).

All parts of the working memory were found to be related to and able to predict success in not only reading comprehension but also problem-solving abilities and math (Zheng, Swansen, Marcoulides 2011). This study was the followed by a study published in 2012 supporting that several areas of the working memory were involved in mathematics as well (Nyroos, Wikland-Hornquist 2012). Alloway (Alloway, Passolunghi 2011) had also completed a study finding that several areas of working memory impacted on achievement in mathematics.

Working memory was found to be able to predict which students would have difficulty learning how to do math operations (Toll, Van de Ven, Krostberger, Van Luit 2011). These findings were then supported by Proctor who found that there was a positive correlation between working memory and mathematical reasoning in students with learning disabilities (Proctor 2012).

We see that the working memory has been related to problem-solving, reading comprehension in native languages and in second languages as well as in the comprehension of mathematics. Problems in working memory have also been cited in many of these studies as an accurate predictor of learning problems in these areas. The importance of working memory not just in academics but also in daily problem-solving are clear. Recently a study done by Dahlen supported that working memory training had a positive effect on reading comprehension and literacy (Dahlen 2011). During the school year 2007-2008, NACD worked with the Wasatch Peak Academy using digit spans and reverse digit spans activities with students. Pre and post testing completed independently by the school as well as testing completed by NACD showed a positive correlation between improvement in working memory as produced by improved scores on reverse digit span activities and standardized test scores (NACDFoundation 2009). A study completed in 2012 which is being published by NACD also found a positive correlation between reverse digit spans and the Simply Smarter Kids App which are both working memory activities.

Works Cited

Baddeley, A.D., Hitch, G. (1974)
“Working Memory.” In G.H. Bower (Ed.) The Psychology of Learning and Motivation: Advances In Research and Theory. 1975: vol.8 47-89.

Atkinson, R.C., Shiffrin, R.N. “The Control Processes of Short Term Memory.” Technical Report 173 Psychology Series. 1971: Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

Graesser, A.C., Singer,M., Trabasso, T. “Constructing Inferences During Narrative Text Comprehension.” Psychological Review 1974: Vol.101, Number 3, 391.

Daneman, M., Carpenter, P.” Individual Differences in Working Memory and Reading.”
Carnegie-Mellon Universtiy, USA
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90312-6

Carretti, B., Borella, E., Cornoldi, C., DeBeni, R. “The Role of Working Memory in Explaining the Performance of Individuals with Specific Reading Comprehension Difficulites: A Meta-Analysis.” Learning and Individual Differences 2009: Vol.19,number 2, 246-251.

Andreassen, R., Braten, I. “Examining the Prediction of Reading Comprehension on Different Multiple Choice Tests.” Journal of Research in Reading 2010: Vol.33, Issue 3, 263-283
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(80)90312-6

Kashiwagi, A. “Relative Clauses in First and Second Language: A Case Study.” ProQuestLLC., Ph.D. Dissertation 2011: The Ohio State University.
http://udini.proquest.com/view/processing-relative-clauses-in-pqid:2328649871/

Pimperton, H. Nation, K. “Suppressing Irrelevant Information from Working Memory: Evidence For Domain Specific Deficits in Poor Comprehenders.” Journal of Memory and Language 2010: vol 62, n4, 380-391.

Macaruso, P., Shankweiler, D. “Expanding the Simpler View of Reading in Accounting for Reading Skills in Commuity College Students.” Reading Psychology 2010: vol.33, n5, 454-471.

Zheng X, Swanson, H.L., Marculides, G. “Working Memory Components as Predictors of Children’s Mathematical Word Processing Abilities.” Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Dec 2011: 110 n4, 481-98.

Nyroos,M., Wiklund-Hornquist,C. “The Association between Working Memory and Educational Attainment as Measuared in Different Mathematical Subtopics in the Swedish National Assessment Primary Education.” Educational Psychology 2012: vol.32, n2, 239-256.

Alloway, T. P., Passolunghi, M. “The relations between working memory and arithmetical abilities: A comparison between Italian and British children.” Learning and Individual Differences 2011: vol 21, 133-137.

Toll, S.W.M., Van der Ven, S.H.G.,Kroesbergen, E.H., Van Luit, J.E.H. Executive Functions as Predictors of Math Learning Disabilities .Journal of Learning Disabilities 2011: vol.44, n6, 521-532.

Proctor, B. “Relationships between Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Cognitive Abilities and Math Achievement within a Sample of College Students with Learning Disabilities.” Journal of Learning Disabilities 2012: vol.45, n3, 278-287.

Dahlen, K.I.E. “Effects of Working Memory Training on Reading in Children with Special Needs.” Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 2011: vol 24, n 4, 479-491.

NACD/Wasatch Peak Academy School Model Program(The NACD Foundation 2009: vol.22 n9.
https://www.nacd.org/newsletter/0709_wpa.php

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 25 No. 9, 2012 ©NACD

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Working memory is generally defined as the ability to remember and use several pieces of information to make decisions or solve problems. Even listening to a sentence requires remembering several words until the meaning of the sentence is determined. Forward Auditory Digit Span refers to how many numbers can be heard and repeated back correctly. Forward Auditory Digit Span is considered to be a good estimate of the capability of working memory, and working memory has been shown to relate to the level of academic performance in several areas. The book Working Memory and Academic Learning, by Dehn, provides a good discussion of these points. Dehn (2008) also stated that Auditory Reverse Digit Span, repeating the numbers backwards, is a better estimate of working memory than Auditory Forward Digit Span because repeating the numbers as presented allows a person to chunk, or group, numbers to make them easier to remember, while repeating the numbers in reverse does not allow that to happen in most cases.

A study by Alloway and Alloway (2010) indicated that working memory is a better predictor of reading, spelling, and math scores than IQ is. They measured working memory in a group of 5-year-old children and compared that to reading, spelling, and math scores six years later. IQ scores were not a significant predictor of spelling, and working memory scores were better predictors in all three academic areas. They recognized the need to develop working memory in order to see gains in academic learning.

The present study was done with a group of thirty-eight people ages 5 to 60, with most between the ages of 9 and 20. Three scores were obtained, including Forward Auditory Digit Span (FADS), Reverse Auditory Digit Span (RADS), and the Simply Smarter Kids-Memory app, Classic Mode. The Simply Smarter Kids- Memory app is a fun, game-like app designed to help increase sequential processing, short-term and working memory.

The study showed a correlation of 0.89 between Reverse Auditory Digit Span (RADS) and the scores on the Simply Smarter Kids app. This correlation means that if people have high scores on one variable, they have high scores on the other variable; and if they have low scores on one variable, they have low scores on the other variable. Each person was very similar in their placement on both variables, high values with high values, low values with low values. The score on Simply Smarter Kids gives a very good indication of a person’s performance on the RADS. The mean on RADS was 4.46, and the mean on Simply Smarter Kids was 4.61.

The correlation between FADS and Simply Smarter Kids was 0.63. As expected this is a lower correlation than for the RADS, but it is still a substantial correlation. The mean on FADS was 6.13, and as expected this was higher than the mean for RADS. Finally, to round out the picture, note that the correlation between FADS and RADS was .68, a substantial relationship between performance on one and performance on the other. Scores on the Simply Smarter Kids app should give a good indication of working memory capability. It would follow that one would then surmise that increases in Simply Smarter Kids app scores should reflect an improvement in working memory.

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 25 No. 8, 2012 ©NACD

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This study was conducted by The National Association for Child Development (NACD) during the 2011/2012 school year within a public elementary school in Northern Utah. With the approval of the principal the program was implemented by one of the teachers, who had the target classroom implement the Simply Smarter program. The program was used for a short period, beginning in January 2012 and continuing until mid-May 2012. Despite the short period of the study, results showed improvement in the individual students’ sequential processing levels, or digit spans, reflecting improvement in short-term and working memory. There was also a relationship between digit spans and academic scores.

The Simply Smarter program was done daily within the classroom, generally involving a 10-15-minute session per child. In each session the students completed five activities. The first game-like activity was an intensity activity designed to increase focus prior to working on the individual processing activities. There were two auditory processing activities: Auditory Forward (AF) digit spans and Auditory Reverse (AR) digit spans. There were also two visual processing activities: Visual Forward (VF) digit spans and Visual Reverse (VR) digit spans. The program is designed to provide the user with an initial baseline score that indicates current processing ability in the various activities. As the user does the program, it responds to the user’s scores and raises or lowers the difficulty level of the activities. Auditory Forward digit spans are considered a measure of short-term memory, and Auditory Reverse digit spans are considered a measure of working memory.

The public elementary K-6 grade school in which this study was conducted is considered an “inner-city” school and had the following demographics, as of 2009: More than 80% of the student population is considered a minority. More than 80% of the student population is on a reduced or free lunch program. In addition most students in this school speak English as a second language and come from disadvantaged homes.

The target classroom was an upper grade elementary class. A total of 22 students participated in this school study. As stated the study was initiated at the beginning of January 2012. The children participated in the online program daily from the beginning of January through the first two weeks of May. The teacher provided a reinforcement program for improvement in scores for each student.

Looking at the target class overall, there were statistically significant gains in the students’ digit span scores from January through May. In the four main Simply Smarter activities that all students participated in, the improvements were as follows:

Mean scores for 22 students:

Auditory forward digit span went from 5.18 to 7.52, an improvement of 2.34 digits.
Auditory reverse digit span went from 3.95 to 6.88, an improvement of 2.93 digits.
Visual forward digit span went from 5.73 to 7.66, an improvement of 1.93 digits.
Visual reverse digit span went from 3.85 to 6.79, an improvement of 2.94 digits.

If we compare these increases with data collected from the Simply Smarter Project (the international initiative that collected data on processing skills of 7125 individuals) (Table 1), the improvements are very dramatic. Scores for 10 to 11 year old children in the Simply Smarter Project showed the following growth in a year:

Auditory forward digit span – 0.57 digits
Auditory reverse digit span – 0.37 digits
Visual forward digit span – 0.46 digits
Visual forward digit span – 0.21 digits

As can be seen, the improvements in digit span scores of the students in the school study far surpassed what would be expected just from the passage of time and normal maturation.

The students were tested by the school using the MAPS – Measure of Academic Progress for Primary Grades. All children were tested in the fall, winter, and spring. Correlations were computed between digit span values in May and the May scores on the MAPS test. Correlations indicate the relationship between two variables, the tendency for scores on one variable to be associated with values on the other variable. The highest possible correlation is 1.00. Values above 0.54 show a strong correlation. Correlations above about .30 show a moderate relationship where correlations can be used to predict what MAPS scores would be. The correlations are indicated below:

AF and Language 0.58
AF and Reading 0.54
AF and Math 0.39
AF and Science* 0.34

AR and Language 0.65
AR and Reading 0.54
AR and Math 0.59
AR and Science* 0.29

VF and Language 0.46
VF and Reading 0.47
VF and Math 0.56
VF and Science* 0.32

VR and Language 0.47
VR and Reading 0.45
VR and Math 0.26
VR and Science* 0.28

*Note: The students received minimal science instruction in the classroom during this period of time.

Summary

The Simply Smarter Program was used by a public school classroom located in an underprivileged community in Northern Utah from January through mid-May of 2012.

Following the trial period the target group showed significant improvement in Auditory and Visual Forward and Reverse Digit Spans, which are measures of short-term and working memory. Strong or moderate correlations were found between digit spans and MAPS test scores, indicating a significantly positive relationship between digit spans and academic scores as well.

The results of the study suggest that the Simply Smarter Program can be an effective tool for increasing short-term and working memory and may be used to increase reading and math scores.

Simply Smarter Site

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 25 No. 7, 2012 ©NACD

The post The Effect of the Simply Smarter Program on Short-Term Memory, Working Memory, and Academic Competency for Elementary Students appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.

NACD Newsletter, Volume 5 Issue 1, 2012 ©NACD

The post NACD Research: The Role of Working Memory in Reading Comprehension appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.

Davis County School District, Utah
2007/2008 School Year

(Appendices featuring additional information and statistics available as PDF Download HERE.)
Wasatch Peak Academy is a public charter school in North Salt Lake, Utah. At the request of the principal and special education teacher, the National Association for Child Development (NACD) created a school model program for Wasatch Peak Academy, intended to increase the overall developmental and academic function of identified special education students. A second, less intense part of the program targeted increasing processing abilities of the entire school through the use of NACD’s Simply Smarter online software program. (See Appendix A  for the WPA/NACD school plan.) The results at the end of the school year showed significant improvements in the identified students’ processing abilities, as well as their reading and math scores.

Wasatch Peak Academy is a K-6 charter school with a maximum enrollment of 300 students, and with a faculty and administration of 24. WPA is a public school. It emphasizes mastery of reading and math, offers a bilingual education for all grades, and provides the core curriculum as outlined by the Utah State Office of Education. The curriculum used consists of Saxon Math, Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction (ECRI), and the Core Knowledge Series by E.D. Hirsch. In the 2007/2008 school year, there were 21 students who were receiving special education services. Most of the students had a classification of Learning Disabled. A few had a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism, and a few others had an Otherwise Health Impairment classification. For these students, the special education teacher, Mrs. Andrea Johnson, had been using Wilson Phonics, Great Leaps Fluency Builders, and Reading for All Learners, in addition to the curriculum used by the other teachers.

The National Association for Child Development was founded in 1979 by Robert Doman, Jr. NACD is an international organization with 18 chapters around the United States and in India. Over tens of thousands clients have been served since 1979, ranging from severely involved to highly capable. They include, but are not limited to, Gifted/Accelerated, typical, LD, Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, NLD, Developmental Delay, PDD, Autism, Aspergers, Down Syndrome, Williams Syndrome, Retts Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Brain Injury. NACD is an eclectic organization utilizing over 3,000 different techniques and methodologies. NACD has designed and supervised over 30 million hours of individual developmental, therapeutic, and educational intervention. Staff include educators, Speech and Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Family and Development specialists, Curriculum and Instruction specialists, along with our Medical Director, Director of Research, and Director of Nutritional Intervention. NACD utilizes a unique approach to child development: TDI Targeted Developmental Intervention®. These interventions for children and adults are targeted because they are specific to the individual. There is no “one size fits all approach,” as every child is unique.

Targeted Developmental Interventions provide specific neurological input to improve:

• Language development – receptive and expressive
• Social interaction
• Play skills
• Tactility and sensory dysfunction
• Auditory function
• Visual function
• Fine and gross motor skills
• Cognitive function
• Academic function

NACD assesses current developmental and academic function and designs a program of exercises or activities (TDI) to help the individual progress. Our proven methodologies are the result of decades of clinical application and refinement, making NACD a leader in doing what works for children with developmental and educational issues.

Due to her frustration with lack of progress in some of her students, Mrs. Johnson approached us for our help in October of 2007. Mrs. Johnson had heard about NACD through her experience as a provider for The Listening Program, a sound therapy program that NACD originally helped to create. Mrs. Johnson selected 18 of the 21 students to participate in the NACD program. In order for the individual students to be successful, we needed to have parent participation, as they would be helping with the implementation of the program. The 18 selected had the support needed at home. All parents were required to listen to NACD’s Guide to Child Development and Education CDs, as well as fill out NACD’s client history and application form. Evaluations were conducted by the NACD staff at our national office in Ogden the last two weeks of October 2007. The students ranged from 1st to 5th grade. At the time, fifteen of the students received pullout for reading, and five of those students also received assistance for math. The remaining three were on grade level academically, but they received extra assistance as needed for behavior, language, and social skills.

Following the evaluations, NACD designed individualized programs for all 18 students and provided the families and Mrs. Johnson with a DVD for each child’s program. The DVD provided instruction on how to implement the suggested program activities. The programs consisted of various auditory and visual sequential processing activities, ongoing sound therapy that Mrs. Johnson was already utilizing, fine and gross motor activities, as well as academic recommendations. An NACD representative traveled to WPA a minimum of one time per month through the entire school year to assist Mrs. Johnson and her aides on the implementation of the programs. Programs were done 1:1 with the students, as well as in group settings when possible. The NACD representative also communicated often with the parents to follow-up regarding what they were able to do at home. Parents found implementing the program at home difficult due to the amount of homework the students were also given to complete. NACD was able to convince WPA to limit the amount of homework given to these students in order to carry out the home program successfully. The majority of the 18 students received about 50% of their program on a monthly basis. During the holidays of 2007, the parents did their best to keep up with some of the program activities.

A second round of evaluations took place in late February of 2008. These evaluations were conducted at NACD as well as at WPA. The same areas were evaluated, and the same standardized test scores administered. Parents’ comments on their child’s function were very positive. Some are listed below:

“His coordination has greatly improved. His fit throwing has definitely decreased plus his ability to stay in his chair.”

“I see more confidence in him at mastering a variety of math problems. Reading skill has improved and comprehension is gradually improving as well.”

“Reading with enthusiasm, voice inflection, and more confident with school work.”

“His overall grades have come up. Socially he is acting a little more his age group and more confidence with himself.”

“Reading MUCH better! Math has improved as well.”

“He is learning more quickly and retaining the information.”

“He has learned his letters, his numbers, sounds, and is reading!!!”

“___ has improved leaps and bounds! I have seen changes in everything. She is reading on a 2.6 grade level, her attention is better, her memory is better, and her self-esteem is so much better. She sounds out words and remembers them consistently.”

These comments were after only three months of NACD program implementation. Following the evaluations in February of 2008, the 18 children had their programs modified based on their changes in function. New DVDs were provided to the parents and to Mrs. Johnson to view, and then they implemented the programs at the school and at home for the rest of the school year.

NACD and Wasatch Peak Academy used several standardized achievement tests to determine progress with the project. Mrs. Johnson administered the SCAN-C test, subtests in math and word recognition of the Wide Range Achievement Test, and the state standardized yearly tests, the CRT. NACD also administered testing of reading comprehension with the Peabody Individualized Achievement Test to those students above a 3.5 grade reading level.

SCAN-C

The following description of the SCAN-C and its subtests was taken from the test’s manual:

The SCAN-C Test for Auditory Processing Disorders in Children–Revised is an individually administered test used to identify children between ages 5 years, 0 months and 11 years, 11months who have auditory processing disorders. A revision of the original SCAN published in 1986, SCAN-C subtests were chosen to obtain information about areas that have been demonstrated to be among the most relevant to understanding auditory processing abilities. SCAN-C assesses the perception stage of auditory processing, which is pre-cognitive. The test requires that the child repeat stimulus words or sentences, but the child is not required to understand the concept of “same or different,” or to understand at a cognitive level the phonetic or phonologic differences that exist among speech sounds. This type of test avoids the cross modality and cognitive aspects of pointing to a picture in response to a word.

SCAN·C includes four subtests that represent functional auditory abilities in everyday listening situations:

• Filtered Words Subtest in which the subject is asked to repeat words that sound muffled. The test stimuli consist of monosyllabic words that have been low-pass filtered at 1000 Hz with a roll-off of 32 dB per octave. The test enables you to assess a child’s ability to understand distorted speech, considered effective in identifying central auditory processing disorders.
• Auditory Figure-Ground Subtest that evaluates the subject’s ability to understand words in the presence of background noise. Monosyllabic words were recorded in the presence of multi-talker speech babble noise at +8 dB signal-to-noise ratio. Poor performance on repeating the stimulus words may indicate a delay in development of the auditory system.
• Competing Words Subtest in which the subject hears two words simultaneously—one monosyllabic word presented to each ear—and is instructed to repeat the words presented in each ear. The test enables you to assess “ear advantage.” Poor performance may indicate a delay in maturation, underlying neurological disorganization, or damage to auditory pathways. Abnormalities shown by dichotic word test results are related to a wide range of specific disabilities, including CAPD, language disability, learning disability, and reading disorder.
• Competing Sentences Subtest in which pairs of sentences unrelated in topic are presented to the right and left ears. The subject is instructed to direct attention to the stimuli presented in one ear while ignoring the other. Like the Competing Words subtest, the results are used to determine levels of auditory maturation, hemispheric dominance for language, and to identify disordered or damaged central auditory pathways. The advantage of testing binaural separation with both word and sentence stimuli is to compare findings obtained with both simple and more complex linguistic levels of auditory stimuli.

SCAN-C provides several important scores including subtest raw scores, subtest and composite standard scores, percentile ranks, and cumulative prevalence of ear advantage for the Competing Words subtest. Ear advantage scores are powerful indicators of hemispheric dominance for language and neurologically based language/learning disorders. The Competing Words subtest yields two ear advantage scores—one for the Right-Ear First Task and one for the Left-Ear First Task. The information presented on cumulative prevalence for ear advantage provides you with a means for examining how common or uncommon a particular child’s ear advantage score is. The more extreme or atypical the ear advantage score, the greater the possibility of an auditory-based disorder such as a language or learning disability.

Overall, the 15 students that were given the test at the beginning, then end of year, showed substantial improvement. Nine of the students at the beginning of the year were considered in the disordered or borderline disordered range. Six of those nine improved up to the “normal” range. One jumped from the disordered range to the borderline range. The others showed improvement in their scores within the same level. The remaining students already tested in the normal range, but they all improved in their scores. See Appendix B for their scores.

Mrs. Johnson administered the math and word recognition tests of the Wide Range Achievement Test as her quarterly progress monitor. Fifteen students were given the word recognition test each quarter, and six of the eighteen students were tested in math. Results are shown in Appendix C. Of the fifteen in reading, all showed an academic year’s growth or more within the seven months of NACD program implementation. Eight jumped between two and three academic years in their reading ability. Of the five tested for math, all demonstrated over a grade level jump during the seven months. Three showed a two-year jump within the NACD program time frame.

NACD also administered a reading comprehension subtest of the Peabody Individualized Achievement Test to six of the eighteen students. Results are shown in Appendix D. This test was administered twice, the first in October of 2007 during the initial evaluations, and again the end of January 2008. Five of the six increased their grade level by one to three years within those three months.

Finally, we reviewed the students’ state standard Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) scores. Overall, Wasatch Peak students with disabilities group increased their language arts testing by 10% the 2007/08 school year, compared to the 2006/07 school year. Their math scores went up 5%. How did Wasatch Peak compare to the state average in these areas? In this same group, students with disabilities, WPA ranks 60% for Language Arts compared to the state average of 44%. In math, WPA ranks 55% compared to the 43% average. These scores and comparisons were given to Wasatch Peak Academy from the Utah State Office of Education. See Appendix E for these results.

Wasatch Peak Academy as an entire school participated in NACD’s Simply Smarter Project 9+/-2. In November of 2007, the staff, students, parents of students, and siblings participated in the project in order for us to collect more data on sequential processing. Sequential processing is the means by which we take in information and the basic mechanism we use to think and access our innate intelligence. It is typically measured by determining the length of a person’s digit span. Numbers are presented to a person either verbally at the rate of one per second, or in written form to view for three seconds, and the person is asked to say or record those numbers. Of more significance is a person’s working memory, which is their ability not only to process the information, but also to manipulate the information. Giving a reverse digit span tests this. The person is given a sequence of numbers, and the individual needs to recall the numbers in reverse order. Not only can sequential processing be measured, but most importantly it can be improved, often dramatically so. This was the case with our 18 students at Wasatch Peak Academy. After the school participated in the 15-minute online research project, the school utilized Simply Smarter for an entire year. Our eighteen students increased their auditory and visual sequential processing skills very quickly, utilizing Simply Smarter on average 2-3x/week, as well as practicing various sequencing activities with Mrs. Johnson during school hours. Their digit spans on Auditory Forward, Auditory Reverse, Visual Forward, and Visual Reverse are located in Appendix F.

Statistical analysis was conducted on our sample of 18 kids, comparing their increase in sequential processing abilities and academic function. For our sample, there was a moderate correlation between improvement in reverse auditory digit spans and improvement on their WRAT math scores. Change scores were also analyzed on the WRAT word recognition test. Those students who increased their reverse auditory digit span by more than two digits on average improved more in their word recognition test than students whose reverse digit span remained the same or increased by one. The mean improvement in months for word recognition for those children who increased their reverse auditory digit span by more than 2 digits was 18.17 months. The mean improvement in months for those students whose reverse auditory digit span stayed the same or increased by one digit was 17.75 months. The time frame of actual NACD program implementation was roughly seven months; so in both cases the amount of improvement was more than double what would typically be expected in the given time frame.

Statistical analysis was done on results of eleven students from our sample that participated in the CRT state standard tests. Comparisons were made of the students’ digit spans and their composite scores on the CRTs in Math and Language Arts. Those students who received a composite score of 3 or 4 in Math and in Language Arts had a higher reverse auditory digit span than those that had a 1 or 2 composite score. More specifically, those with 1 or a 2 score had an average of 1.5 reverse auditory digit span. Those students with a 3 or 4 score on the CRT had an average 5.0 reverse auditory digit span. Finally, analysis was done of Wasatch Peak Academy “typical” students in grades 2, 4, and the 5/6 split class, comparing their digit span scores taken from the project and their CRT scores in Language Arts and Math. This data showed the same result. The higher the reverse auditory digit span, the higher the students’ scores were on the CRT state standard tests. See Appendix G for these scores. All of our research on this sample of students, and the school as a whole, strongly suggests that as a child increases in sequential processing abilities, specifically reverse auditory digit spans, the better that child does academically.

Incidentally, Andrea Johnson received the Utah State Charter School Teacher of the Year award for the 2007/08 school year and was featured in Utah Woman magazine in their March 2008 issue.

“I am so happy that NACD decided to work with us, I have learned so much from them. They would come to our school and teach the kids and me. I saw significant progress with my students. Their academic scores increased and their gross and fine motor skills improved.  This is a great program that can change people’s lives. I loved having my students do simply smarter. In fact, I loved it so much the first thing I did at my new school was get my new students on the program.”
— Andrea Johnson, WPA special education teacher 2007/08

It was a pleasure working with Andrea and the staff at Wasatch Peak Academy. We especially enjoyed working with the students and parents. Their dedication to help their children succeed was unprecedented.

(Appendices featuring additional information and statistics available as PDF Download HERE.)

Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 22 No. 9, 2009 ©NACD

The post NACD/Wasatch Peak Academy School Model Program appeared first on NACD International | The National Association for Child Development.