Over the last few weeks I had the privilege to train public school educators, private school educators, homeschool educators, graduate students, and rehabilitation experts.
In each session we did exercises to help understand what processing speed, working memory, and long term memory retrieval really feels like. The following video begins with a basic processing exercise and then moves to a working memory exercise. Take a minute and watch.
Improving Working Memory Video
How’d you do?
Now, take a deck of playing cards and simply see how quickly you can say the cards you see. I encourage you to time yourself on all of these exercises. This is your processing speed.
Now, alternate the cards and say the number of the first card, the color of the second card, and the shape (suit) of the third card as demonstrated in the video with the Blink cards. This is your working memory! Did you feel it?
Next, remove the face cards (K, J, Q, and A) and say the number you see on the first card ( equal), then add +1 to the second card, and then subtract -1 to the third card.
How’d you do?
As adults, most of what we do is simply routine or automatic. When students are holding two or more directions/steps in their mind and performing a task, they are using their working memory. Practice the exercises at home or at school every day for the next 8 weeks and watch your working memory improve!
Blessings, Carol and Kyle
