Working Memory Abilities

The main point of the article is to view the connection between Working Memory Capacity (WMC) and concussions. It starts off by introducing the concept of WMC, and it proceeds to explain its importance in athletics. The article then branches out to take statistics on concussion data based on AOSPAN scores, gender, and sport. The article finishes by comparing said data and providing the conclusion that WMC does not differ between athletes regardless of the contact level of their sport or their previous concussion history.

The analysis of the data in this study showed that there was a statistically significant difference in the grade point average of high school junior student-athletes when compared to non-athletes. During their participation in an athletic season, the mean GPA of the athletes was 3.11 and the standard deviation was .73, when the athletes were not participating in an athletic season, the mean GPA was 3.20 and the standard deviation was .90.

Outline and evaluate the memory model. The working memory model was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974. It is an alternative model that replaces the simple concept of short term memory. It suggests that our memory is made up of a central executive and two slave systems.

The participants that provided responses to the questionnaire were put into a graph, showing the severity of concussions based on the 5 point scale given; extremely sever, sever slightly sever, somewhat sever, not severe.(fig 4) The responses showed patterns of the participants as a whole. Additionally, given the small sample size (n= 7), athletes who were identified as having a concussion, sidelined tested, and diagnosed from a physician were used to generate an outliner data showing the average of a player’s time frame for returning to play. The sample used a bar graph to understand trends necessary to view the commonalities of the time frame of an athletes return to play.

The study also found through demographic research that the student-athletes were very diverse. There were private school and public school kids as well as kids who had to repeat grades. However, the two groups did not have different levels of education, which takes out the possibility of a confounding variable. The groups also had the same age and neurological history.

Summary: Catherine Rampell, in her article “Grading College Athletes”, claims in her visual that college recruited athletes tend to have a lower GPA than non-athlete students. The authors reinforce their claim by conducting a study on the effect of participating in college athletics on the GPA’s of college students. The authors’ purpose is to analyze the relationship between college academics and athletics in order to explain the impact of athletics on academic focus and performance in school for athletes. The authors’ audience is the college students who are incorporated into the

Moreover, college athletes have shown a poor academic success rate in past few years, in brief. Their academic performances were significantly low due to the distraction caused by athletic programs. Athletics are not only a distraction for athletes, but also for institutions which are holding these athletic programs. “The low graduation rates among athletics, particularly in sports like football and basketball, are alarming, although there is strong evidence that this problem is endemic to the entire academic enterprise” (“College”). Average outcome GPA of an athlete is way lower than that of a normal student in general. Missing classes regularly, missing assignments, and missing exams have been the reasons for these poor academic performance rates. Daily practices and tournaments are the reason for them to miss their academics. Another side of this argument is that athletes are given unfair advantages in academics unlike other students. They were given excessive grade changes and extra points to maintain their athletic eligibility. This situation degrades the quality of academic programs and it debases

The area of my memory that I have focused on improving is my short term working memory. Even with rehearsals of 30 seconds plus, information is often not retained for recall a short time later. I would greatly enjoy the ability to remember items without a contextual cue around them; such as phone numbers or a list of five random items.

A high achiever can strategically tackle processing new information and the way that they learn it. High achievers can relate information to information that was previously learned, make strategies so that they can remember information, make plans on how to study and focus. Students with learning difficulties tend to lack those abilities. Other than the executive functions, there is also the working memory. A working memory is a memory system that can only hold a limited amount of information while an assignment is trying to be completed. In the working memory, information is only effective for a short period of time. A student’s working memory can be used more than they can grasp and too much information is trying to be retained. Similarly, when too much is demanded of the executive functions it becomes a hassle to consume new information and remember it. An example of this is when LD students try to take notes. They try to write everything down instead of just the crucial points. This struggle makes them begin to be filled with anxiety. Also when the working memory becomes overloaded current information is unable to be

increase of working memory during the same period (Jha, 2010). The study also found that in addition to the gains in working memory capacity, the group that meditated had increased self-reported positive affect. Positive affect is how we experience feelings and emotions, in other words it is our moods. Because affect is a psycho-physiological construct that involves alertness and motivational intensity, the benefits of mindful meditation on positive affect is invaluable for a soldier’s effectiveness.

Sports and the general physical activities have been associated with a plethora of benefits. Not so much in correlation with education though. The debate on sports and academic performance relates as to whether sports affect academic performance positively or negatively. Mostly, academics, especially in high school and colleges, require an enormous time commitment. In the same way, sports demand time commitment. Apparently, academics and sports run linearly and either would consume the time of the other. Such would be the argument put forth by the claimants of the negative effects of sports on academic performance. The opponents to the positive correlation of sports and academic performance ground their arguments largely on the time commitment that the two require claiming that sports would consume a student’s time for study hence affecting their academic performance. Proponents of a positive correlation between sports and academic performance summon an extensive range of evidence showing that students who participate in sports perform well in academics. The proponents’ arguments are fetched from the proven benefits of exercise which improve a student’s overall well-being and motivate their academic performance. Opponents would, however, argue that the studies that find athletes and sports persons good at academics do not show how such correlations occur in that other factors could be the actual causes of the correlation and not sports in themselves. Regardless, opponents to the claim that sports affect academic performance positively cannot deny that sports affect the overall well being of any human being. As such, there is no denying that sports affect academic performance positively where a balance among the two is maintained.

To study the relationship between symptomatic student athletes and academic performance, various methods were used. For example, Ransom et al.’s (2015) study recruited 5-18-year-old children out of a group of 349. They were then divided up into two groups, one a parent-child group (69%) and the remaining 31% consisted of a parent only group. Comparisons were made between two groups, a symptomatic (Rc-) group and a recovery (free of symptoms) group (Rc+). Findings were taken from self report surveys with the purpose of asking students and parents whether or not they were concerned about concussion symptoms affecting academic performance. Participants of both groups went through an initial examination at a concussion clinic to determine group placement (Ransom et al., 2015). Similarly, Wasserman et al.’s (2016) study utilized two comparison groups as well. This consisted of an extremity injury comparison group and a concussion group. Ransom et al. (2015) found that 59% of students and 64% of parents of the Rc- group felt reasonably concerned compared to the Rc+ group where 16% of students and 30% of parents felt concerned. Interestingly, athletes from all age levels had the most trouble with math class (Ransom et al., 2015). In comparison, Wasserman et al.’s (2016), study used an academic dysfunction tool and self reported results showed that

Sports programs have been an integral part of all schools. They support the academics of the school and therefore foster success in life. These programs are educational and help produce productive citizenship. They help students experience and build skills that may help them in their future, like interpersonal and time management skills. Education may kindle the light of knowledge, but sports help to maintain the proper physique. Sports are also an important means of entertainment and a use for energy after long hours of study. Sports increase a student’s performance not only in the classroom but also in their life.

Contact method: the research was conducted with physical elements such as the questionnaire, as well as personal interviews and observation. The data was taken from sports trainers as well as management staff.

Sports play an important role in our life as it keeps us healthy and active. We can have a healthy mind only when we have a healthy body. Great achievements come our way when we maintain our physical and mental well-being. Sports in other terms can be described as a social link to many personalities in the sporting environment. It helps to bring people from different parts of the world together and acts as a platform for a relationship. Also, It has helped the researchers to have an understanding of the behaviors and reactions of different types of athletes. There are some of the athletes that compete to be able to beat their opponents in the field while others engage themselves to achieve specific goals. This is a clear indication that all participants in any sporting activity participate in meeting specified and different achievements best known to them.