Working memory is the term used to refer to a system responsible for temporarily storing and manipulating information. It functions as a mental workspace that can be flexibly used to support everyday cognitive activities that require both processing and storage such as, mental arithmetic. However, the capacity of working memory is limited, and the imposition of either excess storage or processing demands in the course of an on-going cognitive activity will lead to catastrophic loss of information from this temporary memory system. A good example of an everyday activity that uses working memory is mental arithmetic. Imagine, for example, attempting to multiply two numbers spoken to you by another person, without being able to use a pen and paper or a calculator. First of all, you would need to hold the two numbers in working memory. The next step would be to use learned multiplication rules . to calculate the products of successive pairs of numbers, adding to working memory the new products as you proceed. Finally, you would need to add the products held in working memory, resulting in the correct solution. To do this successfully, it is necessary to store the two numbers, and then systematically apply multiplication rules, storing the intermediate products that are generated as we proceed through the stages of the calculation. Without working memory, we would not be able to carry out this kind of complex mental activity in which we have to both keep in mind some information while processing other materials. Carrying out such mental activities is a process that is effortful and errorprone. A minor distraction such as an unrelated thought springing to mind or an interruption by someone else is likely to result in complete loss of the stored information, and so in a failed calculation attempt. As no amount of effort will allow us to remember again the lost information, the only course of action is to start the calculation afresh. Our abilities to carry out such calculations are limited by the amount of information we have to store and process. Multiplying larger numbers “in our heads” is for most of us out of the question, even though it does not require greater mathematical knowledge than the earlier example. The reason we cannot do this is that the storage demands of the activity exceed the capacity of working memory.

Annals of Educational Research and Reviews  is a world-wide peer-reviewed open-access journal which systematically documents several of key developments and education  taking place in the field of education technology all across the world.

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