This project tested the Improving Working Memory intervention (WM) and an adapted version, entitled
the Working Memory Plus intervention (WM+). Working memory is the ability to remember and
manipulate information over short time-frames. Previous research has suggested that working memory
is a reliable predictor of numeracy outcomes.
The Improving Working Memory intervention aimed to improve the numeracy skills of Year 3 pupils
(aged 7-8) who were behind the class average in numeracy by improving their working memory
capacity. The intervention, developed and previously tested by a team at Oxford University, combined
the explicit teaching of working memory strategies by Teaching Assistants (TAs) and the independent
practice of these strategies using web-based games. The intervention was delivered in ten one-hour
sessions and lasted for one term. The Working Memory Plus intervention also had ten sessions, but
only five were focused on working memory, whilst the other five were focused on arithmetic content.
The project was a randomised controlled trial (RCT). 127 schools participated, being randomised at the
school-level to one of three arms – the Improving Working Memory intervention, the Working Memory
Plus intervention, or a business as usual control group. The primary outcome was maths attainment
and the project also looked at working memory, and attention and behaviour in class as secondary
outcomes. The process evaluation included fieldwork with eight intervention schools (four from each
intervention), and an online survey of treatment and control schools. The trial took place between
September 2016 and July 2017
