Working memory based early intervention program for gifted preschoolers: an effectiveness study

Abstract

In the literature, it has been shown that working memory, which plays an important role in cognitive development of preschool children and is a concept intertwined with cognitive activities, can be improved. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of early intervention programs for improving working memory on the working memory performance of gifted children in the pre-school period. In the study, pre-test post-test experimental design of unequal groups of quasi-experimental designs was used. While an early intervention program to improve working memory was applied to the experimental group, the control group did not benefit from this training. The study group of the research consisted of a total of 67 children. The data collection tools used in the study consisted of three groups: scales for identifying and typical development, the scale for determining effectiveness of the early intervention program, and scales to determine the social validity of the study. The quantitative findings showed that the early intervention program developed improved the working memory performance of both gifted and typically developing children. In addition, the students who participated in the study and their parents and teachers found the early intervention program useful. It was observed that the study provided social validity.