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Project

Addressing an early precursor of student wellbeing: teacher-child relationship and classroom-level interaction quality as promoters of children’s working memory performance.

If we want children to develop into competent, autonomous and mentally healthy individuals then adequate working memory (WM) is of utmost importance. WM is a consistent and long term, strong predictor for academic performance, functioning and wellbeing. Recent classroom intervention programs that stimulate WM aim to create the most optimal classroom conditions in which WM can thrive. Classroom quality depends heavily on both supportive classroom level teacher-student interactions and on the affective quality of teachers’ relationships with a child. Yet, we lack knowledge of which specific interactional and relational strategies contribute to this effect on WM. As a consequence, existing WM programs are at risk of (1) not integrating the most effective strategies to create the optimal classroom conditions, (2) including too many strategies posing too much burden on teachers, and (3) inducing limited effects because the relational context in which interactions take place is not addressed. Using microtrials and single case design, the current project aims to determine the most optimal combination of intervention strategies to improve WM, and to examine enhanced effects of these strategies in conditions of a warm, conflict-free teacher-child relationship. In focus groups interviews, we will investigate the barriers and facilitators that teachers experience while implementing these strategies. Insights from this project will lead to the development of a teacher-student WM-toolbox

Date:1 Jan 2023 →  Today
Keywords:teacher-student interaction, working memory, intervention
Disciplines:Educational counselling and school guidance, Learning and behaviour, Teacher education and professional development of educators