It has implications for how parents assist their children with learning online.
The research into working memory was conducted by Nelson Cowan, Curator s Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences.
Working memory is the small amount of information you can hold in your mind and is even more limited in young children, Cowan said. There s a severe limit to what we can hold in mind and it improves in the elementary years, Cowan said.
Not exactly the same as short-term memory, which Cowan said can be used to remember where one s car is parked, working memory can apply to remembering what you said at the start of a sentence in order to finish it.
Researchers in New Zealand found children with self-control the ability to contain thoughts, feelings, and behaviors have a foundation for success in life.
MSU researchers receive grant to study effects of prenatal, postnatal stress on child psychopathology
Michigan State University researchers have received a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Development to advance research on the effects of prenatal and postnatal stress on child psychopathology.
The Prenatal Stress Study, which first began in 2016, is the first study of its kind. The researchers will monitor pregnant women and their children until the children reach the age of 4, monitoring closely for early markers of psychopathology, specifically, depression, anxiety and impulsivity.
What we are doing that is unique is assessing prenatal stress at every week of pregnancy as soon as women enroll in our study, which typically is at 15 weeks. We hope to pinpoint effects of prenatal and postnatal stress on children s self-regulation, development and mental health problems, as well as measure mother-child relationship qualities.
Nelson Cowan
Imagine a 7-year-old and a college student both take a break from their virtual classes to get a drink of water. When they return, the 7-year-old has difficulty restarting the assignment, while the college student resumes working as if the break never occurred. Nelson Cowan, an expert in working memory at the University of Missouri, believes understanding this developmental age difference can help younger children and their parents to better adjust to a virtual learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“By understanding this developmental difference, then we can work to provide a little more structure for younger children in online settings, such as helping them organize their homework,” said Cowan, a Curators Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences. “At school, teachers can provide more of that structure, but in a virtual environment, parents may also have to take on more of that responsibility. For parents who have younger c