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Extended Abstract
Background and Aim:
Today, learning opportunities are not limited to books, teachers, and parents. The entire environment serves as a learning platform for children (Ahmadi & Moeini, 2015). Elementary education is a sensitive and unique period in most countries across the globe, particularly in the era of technology, knowledge-based economies, and constant change (Rahimnik, 1998). One of the critical topics to address in the elementary period is the impact of non-verbal memory on attention and focus. Attention is one of the most crucial and complex factors affecting education and learning. One of the most common problems among children that leads to decreased performance in school is the lack of attention (Hakimzadeh et al., 2014). Focus refers to maintaining a purposeful response during a continuous and repetitive activity, and this ability can be improved by providing opportunities to stimulate attention (Zeynal et al., 2015). Non-verbal memory is one of the factors considered in students with learning disabilities. Non-verbal memory, related to the right hemisphere of the brain, is formed over a wide time span and refers to the collection of information regarding what an individual has seen (Brierhill, 2008).
The lack of attention, focus, and impulsivity in students leads to learning disorders requiring special educational systems, and their academic performance is lower than their normative peers (Heidari, 2015). A movement-based rehabilitation program can improve the neurocognitive symptoms and orientation of children with non-verbal learning disabilities (Esmaeil et al., 2019). In this context, selective attention refers to the ability to focus continuously on a specific stimulus or activity, and its capacity is related to the ability to release attention (Zare et al., 2022). Inattention and the lack of focus cause serious problems in perception, memory recall, accurate recognition, learning, and concept formation, resulting in poor performance among students (Akhavan et al., 2007). Another cognitive process in which attention and focus play a key role as an input channel is memory. Information first enters short-term memory and remains there for a short period if attended to. By focusing on the information, its retention improves, and learning becomes easier (Ferdowsi, 2009). Therefore, considering the importance of memory, especially non-verbal memory, as one of the key factors in learning, thinking, creativity, planning, and everyday behavior in children, their ability to concentrate and focus will increase and develop (Saeed & Jadidi Mohammadabadi, 2022). Teaching non-verbal memory allows them to better utilize attention and focus skills, control their behavior, and perform better in solving problems. Therefore, teaching non-verbal memory to enhance focus and attention is of utmost importance. In addition, by teaching non-verbal memory, we can understand how it can motivate children and improve their attention and focus. In light of the aforementioned issues, the present study aimed to assess the effect of teaching non-verbal memory on the attention and focus of elementary school students (boys and girls) in District 2 of Kerman.
Methods:
This study was a quasi-experimental design with one experimental group and one control group aimed at assessing the effect of non-verbal memory training on the attention and focus of elementary school students in Kerman. The statistical population of the study included all elementary students (n=900) from public schools in District 2 of Kerman over the 2022-2023 academic year. The subjects were selected purposefully via multistage cluster sampling. In the first stage, elementary students from Kerman were selected. In the next stage, two elementary schools were chosen, and then, from each school, 15 third-grade students were selected (two groups of 15). The sample size for each group was set at 15 students. Students from two classes in two elementary schools were selected in clusters, resulting in a total of 30 students, who were then assigned to the experimental group (n=15) and the control group (n=15). Both groups completed the attention and focus questionnaires in the pre-test and post-test phases. After allocating the subjects to the experimental and control groups, the Wechsler Intelligence Test protocol was used for non-verbal memory training in six 45-minute sessions. The experimental group received the training sessions, while both groups filled out the Continuous Performance Questionnaire (1956) and the Attention Test (1911). The data were then used for statistical analysis.
In this study, appropriate to the variables under investigation and the type of data collected, central tendency indicators, dispersion, and score distribution were used to describe the data. During the statistical analysis phase, given the nature of the interval scale used for measurement and the research hypothesis, t-tests for independent groups and covariance analysis (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data as needed.
Results:
The mean scores of male participants in the experimental group in the pre-test (112±0.01) and post-test (143±3.91) were recorded. The mean scores of females in the experimental group in the pre-test (119.88±6.24) and post-test (148±4.5) were also recorded. The mean scores of male participants in the control group in the pre-test (12.8±1) and post-test (113.4±1.02) were observed. The mean scores of female participants in the control group in the pre-test (115.4±7.84) and post-test (115.4±8.75) were also noted. The results demonstrated that the interaction effect between pre-test attention, gender, and the experimental procedure (F(1,23)=0.46: P=0.5) was not significant. Therefore, there was no interaction effect for this variable, and the slopes in the experimental and control groups among males and females were homogeneous. The results of the covariance analysis examining the attention variable between the experimental and control groups based on gender indicated that the interaction effect between gender and the experimental procedure was not significant (F(1,25)=0.001; P=0.97). As a result, the impact of non-verbal training on attention in both males and females was equal, and there was no difference between them.
Discussion and conclusion:
This study sought to examine the effect of non-verbal memory training on the attention and concentration of elementary school students (District 2) in Kerman. The findings of the hypothesis suggested that non-verbal memory training did not differ in its effect on the attention and concentration of male and female elementary students in Kerman. The results of this study do not align with the findings reported by Yasemi et al. (2015) and Shah Mohammadi et al. (2018) but are consistent with the results of a study by Khorraman and Zare (2020). Non-verbal memory training can significantly improve the attention and concentration of elementary school students. This type of training can enhance students' memory abilities in various areas, such as pattern recognition, solving spatial problems, and focusing on visual details. Regarding gender, some studies have indicated that gender may affect the impact of non-verbal memory training on students' attention and concentration.
The results of this research highlighted the role of gender in the effectiveness of non-verbal memory training in the attention and concentration of elementary students. The findings pointed out that there were no significant differences between male and female elementary students in Kerman regarding the effect of non-verbal memory training on their attention and concentration. Based on the results, it can be concluded that non-verbal memory training is more effective than traditional methods in improving attention and concentration among elementary school students in Kerman. Active learning has a more pronounced impact on skill acquisition in students' education, independent of gender, and gender cannot be considered a factor affecting attention and concentration.
Non-verbal memory is one of the essential skills in the development of attention and concentration in elementary students. By improving non-verbal memory, students can achieve their best possible performance in various cognitive activities and make the most of their learning process and personal development. This finding can serve as a guide for planning appropriate educational programs in schools and preschool environments, disregarding gender differences in the effectiveness of non-verbal memory. It can also be used as a basis for designing appropriate educational programs and improving the cognitive performance of elementary students. Therefore, it is recommended that such activities as memory games, pattern retention, object order recall, puzzle solving, and identifying various patterns be utilized to enhance the effect of non-verbal memory training on the attention and concentration of elementary school students.
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