Werkgeheugentaken bij Kleuters: Betrouwbaarheid, Validiteit en de Invloed van Strategiegebruik

Abstract

The aim of this pilot study is to investigate whether two visual-spatial working memory tasks (Aandachtstaak and Boxes taak) are valid and reliable and if strategy use influence performances on these tasks. A sample of 96 Dutch preschool children aged 4 to 6 years was assessed on 7 various visual-spatial working memory tasks. Several categories of strategy use (for example ‘from left to right’) were defined and were compared to children who didn’t use strategies. Reliability analyses showed that the Aandachtstaak has good internal consistency. The Boxes taak appears to be internally inconsistent in which items are not sufficiently related to each other. Correlation analyses revealed that the Aandachtstaak, Boxes taak and Kruisjetaak were significant correlated with each other in the expected direction. One-way ANOVA’s showed children did not differ in performances on the Aandachtstaak contrary to children who didn’t use a strategy. Children who used a strategy had better performances on the Boxes taak compared to children who didn’t use a strategy. To conclude, the Aandachtstaak and Boxes taak (despite the internal inconsistency) are promising tasks to measure visual-spatial working memory of preschool children and strategy use can influence task performance. It is recommended to train preschoolers in strategy use, to learn them to apply strategies more effectively and thereby improve their visual-spatial working memory.