20 facts you must know about working memory — from The E-Learning Coach

Excerpt:

The Basics

  1. Working memory used to be called short-term memory. It was redefined to focus on its functionality rather than its duration.
  2. Working memory can be thought of as the equivalent of being mentally online. It refers to the temporary workspace where we manipulate and process information.
  3. No one physical location in the brain appears to be responsible for creating the capacity of working memory. But several parts of the brain seem to contribute to this cognitive structure.


    4. Capacity

  4. Working memory is characterized by a small capacity. It can hold around four elements of new information at one time.
  5. Because learning experiences typically involve new information, the capacity of working memory makes it difficult to assimilate more than around four bits of information simultaneously.
  6. …