Impact of computerized cognitive training on working memory, fluid intelligence, and science achievement

Working memory (WM), which includes short-term memory and cognitive control, has been found to be closely related to a wide range of high-level cognitive abilities and academic achievement (Gathercole, Pickering, Knight, & Stegmann, 2004; Kyllonen, 2002). Prior studies showed children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder improved their WM and fluid intelligence (e.g., the ability to understand complex relationships and solve novel problems) through computerized cognitive training (CCT) in a clinical setting (Kingberg, Firssberg, & Westerberg, 2002; Klingberg et al., 2005). This research examined whether regular middle-school students would significantly improve their WM through CCT on WM; and if so, whether increase in WM would lead to improved fluid intelligence and science achievement.;Two randomized pretest-posttest control-group experimental studies were conducted to answer these questions. Fifty-two and 37 seventh- and eighth-grader in a summer school and an intermediate middle school in Northern California participated in the pilot and main study, respectively. In both the pilot and main studies, students were randomly assigned into the experimental or control group after being tested on working memory, fluid intelligence, and science achievement. Experimental group students were trained on WM, while control group students took training unrelated to WM. The average number of training days was 13.55 days in the pilot study and 24.65 days in the main study. Students took the same tests at the end of training as at the beginning to examine whether experimental group students improved significantly more than did control group students on measures of working memory, fluid intelligence, and science achievement.;Results showed CCT effectively improved regular students' WM in a school setting, with more increase in short-term memory than in cognitive control. No significant improvement was observed right after training in fluid intelligence and science achievement. With more participants, enough time to transfer changes in working memory to fluid intelligence and science achievement, and more training on cognitive control, CCT might significantly improve students' fluid intelligence and science achievement in future studies.