Workshop for educational psychologists and related professionals
One day workshop for educational psychologists and related professionals
Friday 27 March 2015, 10am-5pm,
University of Bristol
Merchant Venturers Building (room 1.11)
FREE, including lunch and refreshments, but please book your place to attend and include any dietary or access requirements.
Queries: w-memory@bristol.ac.uk
Showcasing the most recent work in working memory and education. The day will also include a screening of our new films on working memory in the classroom, and demonstrations of new dynamic assessment activities for working memory, for educational psychologists and related professionals.
TALKS AND BIOGRAPHIES OF THE SPEAKERS:
Professor Chris Jarrold, University of Bristol
Working out how working memory works
Chris will present details of his research group's work on understanding the structure of human memory and how it develops in children. In doing so he will define what working memory means, and suggest ways in which the various aspects of a child's working memory can be properly measured.
Dr Joni Holmes, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
Understanding working memory difficulties in the classroom
In this talk I will describe the primary characteristics of children with poor working memory and outline how they overlap with those seen in children with other developmental disorders such as ADHD. I will then present our new dimensional approach to understanding cognitive developmental disorders through work we are conducting with educational and clinical practitioners in our new research clinic in Cambridge.
Dr Tracy Alloway, University of North Florida
Working Memory: The New IQ
IQ, a measure of what we know, may not be a useful benchmark for academic success. Our peer-reviewed research shows that it is not what you know (IQ), but what you do with what you know (Working Memory) that counts the most in achieving high grades. In this talk we look at the 3 I’s of Working Memory: how it is Important, Indifferent, and Improvable. Some of the topics that I will cover include Working Memory profiles of students with learning disabilities like dyslexia and ADHD, the connection between Working Memory and learning styles, and the role of working memory in gifted students (based on my research with the NAGC).
Dr Debbora Hall, University of Bristol
Making working memory work for educational psychologists
Debbora will talk about a new set of web resources for educational psychologists on working memory in children. These consist of four films, dynamic assessment activities, and PDF factsheets, based on work she and others have been conducting with Professor Chris Jarrold in Bristol. She will be presenting the films and demonstrating the dynamic assessment activities, which will conclude the workshop.
Biographies
Chris Jarrold is Professor of Cognitive Development at the University of Bristol and has been awarded the BPS Neil O'Connor Award for research into developmental disabilities, and the EPS Mid-Career award for his distinguished contribution to research on adult's and children's cognitive abilities. He has been conducting research on working memory for over fifteen years, focussing on understanding the structure of working memory, and the role of working memory components in classroom performance.
Joni Holmes is a Senior Research Scientist at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. Her research has focussed on the role of working memory in children's mathematical skills, and on understanding the cognitive and behavioural profiles of children with disorders of memory and attention. Her current work is focussed on developing and evaluating targeted interventions for individuals with cognitive developmental disorders.
Tracy Alloway is Professor of Psychology at the University of North Florida. Formerly, she was the Director of the Center for Memory and Learning in the Lifespan at the University of Stirling. She is an expert on working memory and education, publishing highly cited articles and books as well as authoring working memory assessments over the past ten years.
Debbora Hall is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Bristol, and has been exploring the structure of working memory in children and the role of working memory in academic performance. She has been working with Chris Jarrold for the past four years, examining the role of working memory components in children's classroom performance.
Supported by
This project was funded by an Economic and Social Research Council Knowledge Exchange Grant (ES/K005634/1) in Partnership with Educational Psychologists at Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council, and the media production company microfilm.