Memory training improved the memory skill it trained, but other gains were small.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   1,601 children aged 3 to 16 took part, in 25 studies. None had ADHD, a learning disability, low IQ or weak memory.

2. 02

   What they did

   Children did memory training that works the mind's workspace, where information is held and used. The other groups either did no training or did a different activity.

3. 03

   What happened

   Children got better at the memory tasks they trained, and the gain lasted several months, but gains on other skills were small. Maths rose a little, but not in studies that put children into groups by chance, and the authors doubted it. Literacy and reasoning ability showed no clear gain.

What the review found

1. HelpedOther outcomes

   Across the studies, memory training improved the skills it trained more than the other groups did.

   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisestested

   Pooled analysis of 30 studies · vs groups that did no training or another task · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

2. HelpedOther outcomes

   Across the studies, training gave only a small gain on other skills.

   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisestested

   Pooled analysis of 74 studies · vs groups that did no training or another task · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

3. HelpedGoals

   Training gave a small maths gain, but only where children were not put into groups by chance.

   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisestested

   Pooled analysis of 17 studies · vs groups that did no training or another task · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

4. No differenceGoals

   Across the studies, training made no clear difference to word reading.

   • Action: Train attention and memory with exercisestested

   Pooled analysis of 17 studies · vs groups that did no training or another task · ⚠ signs that small negative studies went unpublished; mixes trials with other kinds of study

Source