Understanding how cognitive measures of attention, working memory, and emotional well being relate to student academic achievement
Abstract
The purpose of the study is to examine how the cognitive functions of working memory, sustained attention, emotional regulation, and grit influence academic achievement. This dissertation reports on research by the Academic Dean of a pre-Kindergarten to twelfth grade independent school, in collaboration with a cognitive neuroscientist and educators. The study investigates how focused attention and working memory—the ability to attend to tasks despite distractions—correlates with students' ability to regulate their emotions and students' academic performance. Seventy two students in the 11th grade at The Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, participated in the study. ^ Results suggest that relatively high capacities for attention and working memory are positively related to students' exam taking capabilities and as well as the number of honors courses a student will take. In addition, results reveal an inverse relationship between negative emotional affect and high stakes test scores, along with an inverse relationship between negative emotional affect and attention. Furthermore, a measure of grit—students' ability to persevere and have a passion for long-term goals—and positive emotional affect are directly related to student academic performance. Prospect for educators to investigate ways to affect student academic achievement, other than instructional programs, are encouraging. Therefore, the implications for this research are exciting, and the hope is that the data yielded from this research may possibly extend beyond high performing schools such as the Episcopal Academy. Areas such as student emotional wellness, attention, and working memory are prime topics for further research since these emotional factors can be predictors, at the very least, associated with high stakes test scores and student academic performance. ^
Subject Area
Education, Educational Psychology
Recommended Citation
Mindy Hong,
"Understanding how cognitive measures of attention, working memory, and emotional well being relate to student academic achievement"
(January 1, 2009).
Dissertations available from ProQuest.
Paper AAI3354341.
http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3354341
View
More
