| Title |
Working Memory Underpins Cognitive Development, Learning, and Education
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Educational Psychology Review, December 2013
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10648-013-9246-y |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Nelson Cowan |
| Abstract |
Working memory is the retention of a small amount of information in a readily accessible form. It facilitates planning, comprehension, reasoning, and problem-solving. I examine the historical roots and conceptual development of the concept and the theoretical and practical implications of current debates about working memory mechanisms. Then I explore the nature of cognitive developmental improvements in working memory, the role of working memory in learning, and some potential implications of working memory and its development for the education of children and adults. The use of working memory is quite ubiquitous in human thought, but the best way to improve education using what we know about working memory is still controversial. I hope to provide some directions for research and educational practice. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 31 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 7 | 23% |
| United States | 5 | 16% |
| Canada | 3 | 10% |
| Kenya | 1 | 3% |
| Japan | 1 | 3% |
| Taiwan | 1 | 3% |
| Belgium | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 12 | 39% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 20 | 65% |
| Scientists | 6 | 19% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 3 | 10% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 6% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 1,229 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 4 | <1% |
| United Kingdom | 3 | <1% |
| New Zealand | 1 | <1% |
| Australia | 1 | <1% |
| China | 1 | <1% |
| Belgium | 1 | <1% |
| Greece | 1 | <1% |
| Spain | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 1216 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 187 | 15% |
| Student > Master | 159 | 13% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 144 | 12% |
| Researcher | 88 | 7% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 65 | 5% |
| Other | 160 | 13% |
| Unknown | 426 | 35% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 324 | 26% |
| Social Sciences | 98 | 8% |
| Neuroscience | 80 | 7% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 31 | 3% |
| Linguistics | 28 | 2% |
| Other | 201 | 16% |
| Unknown | 467 | 38% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 627. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 18 April 2024.
All research outputs
#36,053
of 25,743,152 outputs
Outputs from Educational Psychology Review
#2
of 800 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#240
of 322,293 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Educational Psychology Review
#1
of 7 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,743,152 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 800 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 22.4. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 322,293 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 7 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them