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4.5 PD HOURS

Event Details

01/12/2026

9.30am - 3.00pm - Log on between 9.15am and 9.30am Victorian Time

Live Streamed Webinar

All Primary, Secondary and Diverse Needs Teachers.

$294 + GST

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Booking Conditions

No applications for this program will be accepted after all vacancies have been filled. Unsuccessful applicants will have their monies refunded in full. Cancellation prior to two weeks before the program date (cut-off date) will incur a 15% service charge per applicant. This program will be payable in full for cancellations made on or after the cut-off date or for failure to attend the program. All cancellations must be in writing and emailed to us. In the event of insufficient applications this program will not proceed and registration monies be fully refunded. In the event of this program being cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances registration monies only will be refunded as Critical Agendas will not accept liability for the payment of any other associated costs. Critical Agendas reserves the right to vary the advertised programs prior to commencement. Please note Critical Agendas reserves the right to transfer participants from face to face to webinar format with price adjustments (if required), should minimum numbers not be met for face to face event

Effectively Teaching and Supporting Students with Low Working Memory

Research suggests that working memory is a better predictor of academic achievement than IQ so it is important that teachers identify working memory deficits, put in place support strategies and do what is possible to develop working memory.

This practical seminar will develop understanding of working memory and the impact of working memory deficits in the classroom. Participants will be familiarised with tools available for measuring working memory capacity. They will be given strategies for supporting children with weak working memory in the classroom and the opportunity to look at ways in which technology can be utilised to increase working memory skills.

Workshop overview –

Understanding childhood working memory –

  • Models of working memory (verbal and visuo-spatial)
  • Working memory capacity and loss, changes that occur during childhood

Characteristics of children with weak working memory –

  • Indicators of weak working memory in children
  • Identifying a student with weak working memory in your classroom

Tools for measuring working memory capacity –

  • Tasks and tools that can be used by teachers or psychologists to measure working memory capacity
  • Measure your own working memory!

The impact of working memory deficits in the classroom –

  • The impact of weak working memory on various aspects of learning and socialisation

Supporting children with working memory deficits – strategies and resources –

  • Strategies for reducing working memory load
  • Using technology to increase working memory – apps, software, online programs
  • Discussion: Can working memory in children be improved by brain training programs?
Critical Agendas Speaker
Presented by Critical Agendas

Shirley Houston

Shirley Houston is an independent educational consultant with 40 years of teaching experience. She has a Masters degree in Special Education and has taught students in years K-12 at government, Catholic and Independent schools, in Australia and in America. She has lectured at several universities in Western Australia and at the Central Institute of Technology. Shirley has an enduring passion for work with children and adults who have specific learning difficulties and is a long-standing Board member of The Dyslexia- SPELD Foundation of Western Australia. She runs teacher-training, advises companies on educational product development and tutors students with diverse needs.

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