ERIC Number: EJ1261994
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0888-4080
EISSN: N/A
The Feasibility of Working Memory Tablet Tasks in Predicting Scholastic Skills in Classroom Settings
Kanerva, Kaisa; Kiistala, Ilkka; Kalakoski, Virpi; Hirvonen, Riikka; Ahonen, Timo; Kiuru, Noona
Applied Cognitive Psychology, v33 n6 p1224-1237 Nov-Dec 2019
Cognitive assessment in natural group settings facilitates data collection but poses threats to the validity. In this study, tablet-based working memory (WM) tasks, the counting span, and reading span were used in predicting 12-year-old children's (N = 837) scholastic skills and fluid intelligence in a classroom with environmental noise. WM tasks had excellent internal consistency, correlated with scholastic skills, and accounted for more of the variance in cognitive performance (grade point average, fluid intelligence, scholastic skills) compared with individually administered (n = 190) digit span task. Furthermore, the multilevel analysis revealed that compared with the classrooms with no noise, when naturally occurring speech or nonspeech types of environmental noises were present during assessment, WM scores or the reliability estimates were not lower. In contrast, when both types of noises were present, the relationships between some of the WM and achievement scores were even stronger. Thus, assessments in natural classroom contexts may promote revealing the individual differences in WM.
Descriptors: Short Term Memory, Handheld Devices, Cognitive Measurement, Predictor Variables, Attention Span, Reading Skills, Elementary School Students, Academic Ability, Intelligence, Classroom Environment, Acoustics, Grade Point Average, Speech, Scores, Reliability, Academic Achievement, Individual Differences
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A