A Systematic Review of Working Memory Applications for Children with Learning Difficulties: Transfer Outcomes and Design Principles
by 
, ,
Adel Shaban
1,*, Victor Chang
2, Onikepo D. Amodu
1, Mohamed Ramadan Attia
3 and Gomaa Said Mohamed Abdelhamid
4,51
Middlesbrough College, University Centre Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough TS2 1AD, UK
2
Aston Business School, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7UP, UK
3
Department of Educational Technology, Faculty of Specific Education, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt
4
Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt
5
Department of Psychology, College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 123, Oman
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 1260; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14111260
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Abstract
Working memory (WM) is a crucial cognitive function, and a deficit in this function is a critical factor in learning difficulties (LDs). As a result, there is growing interest in exploring different approaches to training WM to support students with LDs. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, this systematic review aims to identify current computer-based WM training applications and their theoretical foundations, explore their effects on improving WM capacity and other cognitive/academic abilities, and extract design principles for creating an effective WM application for children with LDs. The 22 studies selected for this review provide strong evidence that children with LDs have low WM capacity and that their WM functions can be trained. The findings revealed four commercial WM training applications—COGMED, Jungle, BrainWare Safari, and N-back—that were utilized in 16 studies. However, these studies focused on suggesting different types of WM tasks and examining their effects rather than making those tasks user-friendly or providing practical guidelines for the end-user. To address this gap, the principles of the Human–Computer Interaction, with a focus on usability and user experience as well as relevant cognitive theories, and the design recommendations from the selected studies have been reviewed to extract a set of proposed guidelines. A total of 15 guidelines have been extracted that can be utilized to design WM training programs specifically for children with LDs.
