COGMED was developed by Dr Torkel Klingberg in Sweden in 2002. In 2007 it was then marketed by Pearson Education Inc. Pearson currently market COGMED within several countries including the UK and USA. COGMED was based on Baddley and Hitch’s (2000) multi-compartmental model of working memory. It was not possible to obtain figures on the number of schools in the UK who are using COGMED. However a Sales Consultant working for Pearson who I contacted reported that during the week beginning the 23rd of March 2015 there were thirteen schools who were actively using a six week programme in the Greater Manchester area and there were seven schools actively engaged in using COGMED in Lancashire.
COGMED aims to improve a person's working memory capacity and function. There are three types of COGMED training: JM for preschool children, RM for school aged children and QM for adults. The standard administration protocol is for 25, 35 or 50 minute sessions a day, five days a week, for five weeks. The tasks on COGMED target short term memory and working memory. There are ten tasks on RM COGMED. The following is a description of some of the types of tasks on COGMED:
Visual data link – There are a number of lights on a robot. The lights, light up and the child is required to remember the correct order in which the lights lit up.
Asteroids: There are a number of asteroids which light up in a specific order. The child is required to remember the correct order in which the asteroids lit up.
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Input module: An auditory sequence of digits is given to the child. The child is then required to recall and input the auditory sequence of digits backwards on a key pad that is on a robot's arm.
Stabiliser: An auditory sequence of letters are given to the child. Simultaneously a light on the robot lights up. The child is then required to click the light that corresponds with the letters.
The fundamental basis of COGMED is that it adapts to a user’s performance. If the individual is able to complete the task one item will be added to the to-be-remembered list. If the individual is unable to complete the task, one item will be removed from the to-be- remembered list. This method means that the individual is having to perform at the limit of their abilities. Once a child has completed a session on COGMED they are then given the opportunity to play a computerised reward game, Robo– Racing.
3.8: Sampling Methods
3.8.1: School
Information about the research was placed in the COGMED’s newsletter for the North West of England to recruit schools interested in the research. Four schools wishing to participate in the research contacted the researcher and one of these schools was chosen. The decision was based upon the school having previous experience of COGMED, their ability to commit to the research and also having the appropriate number of participants who could potentially engage in the research. The other three schools who expressed an interest in the research only had two or three pupils engaged with COGMED and could not
52 commit to the capacity of research, hence this meant that I could only work with one school.
The school that was selected for the research was a Catholic primary school based in an area of deprivation in a town in the North West of England . The school has a single form entry. There are six out of a total of 190 pupils on roll from an ethic minority background. In total at the time of the research there were 31 teachers and teaching assistants employed at the school. The last Ofsted report in July 2014 classified the school as ‘good’ for behaviour, safety of pupils and also in leadership and management. Ofsted classified the school as “requires improvement” in the achievement of pupils and quality of teaching. In total in 2014-2015 84 pupils qualified for the pupil premium out of a total of 190 pupils on roll at the school. There were 32 pupils on the SEN register and 34 pupils who qualified for free school meals. Prior to the research being undertaken in the school COGMED had been previously undertaken once in the Spring Term 2015 with five Year 6 pupils who were all on the school's SEN register. The programme was delivered in the Year 6 classroom. Further details on how the COGMED programme was delivered is discussed as part of the results section in Chapter 4.
3.8.2 Contextual Data
Data from COGMED’s monitoring system, Working Memory Rating Scale and Myself as a Learner Rating Scale were collected to provide contextual data. (See table below for further information)
53 Table 3.2 Categories of the contextual data that were collected
Contextual Data
Contextual Data that were Collected
Why this data was collected.
COGMED’s monitoring system
Number and duration of sessions
Time spent in Active Training
Training index: - “The Training Index, is a measure of the users’ improvement during the training period”
(COGMED, 2010, p17).
COGMED Progress Index
Implementation Science identifies programme dosage1 and participant responsiveness as factors that affect implementation of an intervention (Dane and Schneider, 1998).
The training index and COGMED Progress Index are accessible by the teachers which provides the teachers with data on the pupils' progress on the programme.
Working memory rating scales (WMRS)
1 x Year 5 class teacher completed the WMRS for 5 x Year 5 pupils pre COGMED.
Provides further information about the Year 5 pupils who participated in the programme.
Myself as a Learner Rating Scale (MALS)
5 x Year 5 pupils completed MALS prior to participating in COGMED
MALS measures pupil self learning concept. In this research self learning concept is not intended to be linked to working memory abilities. The rationale for collecting information from MALS is to provide further information on the Year 5 pupils who participated in the study and their self learning concept.
1
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