The role of working memory in spelling

Converging evidence from cognitive neuropsychology (Buchwald & Rapp, 2009), cognitive psychology (Jones et al., 2009) and developmental psychology (Gathercole et al., 2006) has confirmed the importance of working memory for orthographic processing, for both decoding (i.e., reading) and encoding (i.e., spelling). In fact, working memory deficits are often reported to be associated with spelling difficulties present in acquired and developmental dyslexia (Malstädt et al., 2012) or in ADHD (Re et al., 2014). However, working memory is thought to be a multi-component system, with different components dealing with phonological, visual and spatial information. Even the existence of a dedicated orthographic working memory system has been proposed and supported by behavioural and neuroimaging studies (Rapp et al., 2016).

The extent to which these different sub-systems are involved in spelling acquisition (and/or spelling retrieval) is still an understudied. This issue is of great importance for the improvement of current theories of orthographic processing, and for enhancing our understanding of spelling difficulties.

There is scope within this project to examine the role of working memory in the production of familiar words or in the learning of new words, in children and/or adults with or without spelling difficulties. It is expected that the project will make use of experimental methods, which may include response recording of chronometric measures of handwriting and keyboarding using digitising tablets or keystroke logging.

Please direct any questions about the project to Dr Olivia Afonso: afonso.o@brookes.ac.uk

There is an additional requirement to undertake up to 6 hours undergraduate teaching/week during semesters and to participate in a teaching skills course without further remuneration.