Learning depends on your working memory

The visuospatial sketchpad is essential for understanding mathematical, science, technology and engineering subjects.

You can improve your visuospatial working memory. There are two broad strategies for approaching visuospatial problems.

• A holistic str...

A phonological loop is a kind of short-term memory storage that stores sound. A conversation, listening to music, and understanding a lecture depends on your phonological loop.

As you read, your phonological loop uses sub vocalisation (your interna...

Cognitive load is the effort used by the working memory to process information. The working memory capacity is limited: If it is overloaded with information, you will fail to understand.

There are three types of cognitive load:

• Intrinsic load....

• Allocation of attention. Multitasking can generally harm our performance. Each time you switch tasks, it takes some time and energy. (You have to shift your goals and reactivate the rules for the activity.) Lots of task switching will add up to lost time during a day.

Working memory temporarily stores the information you are working on. But it is not just a simple storage. The working memory enables you to create new thoughts, change them, combine them, search them, or any other function that helps you navigate your life.

The idea behind chunking is to group underlying items by some sort of meaning or structure. For example, RTCTAIILFSO is easier remembered when it is regrouped to FRAC-TO-LIS-TIC.

• You can use chunking to memorise phone numbers, passwords or PIN codes by divid...

Chunking is the secret behind mastering any subject. Chunking draws on your long-term memory resources. The more knowledge you have stored, the less information you need to process with your working memory, and the easier it will be to un...

The working memory model of Alan Baddeley divides the working memory into four components:

1. The phonological loop. It is mostly the temporary storage of sounds.
2. The visuospatial sketchpad. The sketchpad stores two- and three-dimensional image...

Anxiety is a major cause of cognitive load. Instead of your working memory focusing on the task at hand, your short-term memory is filled with irrelevant information. i.e. maths is hard; I hate math; I want to give up.

• The effect that anxiety has on your per...

If you practice this skill, you can improve it. To set out how to improve your working memory, it is useful to know how you can measure it.

There is a difference between short-term memory capacity and working memory capacity.

• Short-term capacity

• Music interferes with your digit span. Studies found that students performed better when they revised in a quiet environment than the students who listened to music.
• Many students listen to music while learning because it helps reduce anxiety. Musi...