Prospective memory in students with learning disabilities

Abstract

Introduction. The importance of memory is not restricted to remembering the knowledge and experiences of the past retrospective memory (RM), but also to remember what an individual must accomplish in the future prospective memory (PM). Objectives. The aim of this study was to identify RM and PM levels in students with learning disabilities (LD) according to some variables (gender, grade) and to identify the differences between the two types of memories. Methods. The study followed the comparative descriptive statistics. The study sample consisted of 37 male and female students with LD in middle school. The Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ) was used in this study. Results. The results include the following: a statistically significant decrease from the average in PM and RM levels in students with LD, the existence of statistically significant differences between PM and RM in students with LD for the RM, the presence of statistically significant differences in the PM and RM according to the gender variable for females, and the presence of statistically significant differences in PM and RM according to the grade variable for the third grade of middle school. Conclusion. Students with LD may suffer from a decrease in their capacity to remember in the future, which causes many difficulties in daily life. We guide teachers to use external aids for students with LD (such as writing notes) to help students remember performing their tasks.

Uvod: Značaj pamćenja nije ograničen samo na prisećanje znanja i iskustava iz prošlosti – retrospektivna memorija (RM), već obuhvata i pamćenje onoga što bi pojedinac morao da ostvari u budućnosti – prospektivna memorija (PM). Ciljevi: Cilj ovog istraživanja je da utvrdi nivo RM i PM kod učenika s teškoćama u učenju u odnosu na pol i razred koji pohađaju, kao i da ustanovi razlike između ova dva tipa pamćenja. Metode: U ovom istraživanju primenjena je komparativna deskriptivna statistika. Istraživački uzorak se sastoji od 37 srednjoškolaca steškoćama u učenju, oba pola. Procena je izvršena primenom upitnika za PM i RM (The Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire). Rezultati: Dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da su kod učenika s teškoćama u učenju PM i RM značajno ispod proseka, s tim što su oba oblika pamćenja statistički značajno razvijenija kod ispitanika ženskog pola, kao i kod učenika trećih razreda, u poređenju sa dečacima i učenicima ostalih razreda. Zaključak: Učenici s teškoćama u učenju mogli bi da se suoče sa smanjenjem kapaciteta za pamćenje u budućnosti, što ima za posledicu poteškoće u svakodnevnom životu. Stoga se nastavnici usmeravaju da koriste spoljašnja pomoćna sredstva, poput pravljenja zabeleški, kako bi se pomoglo učenicima s teškoćama u učenju da se prisete kako da urade svoje zadatke