The effectiveness of cognitive games on the working memory of sixth-grade borderline students

BACKGROUND: Cognitive games are one of the effective ways to improve the working memory of borderline students. The game plays an effective role in the development of students, and during the game, you can find out many characteristics, problems, and growth of borderline students. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive games on the working memory of sixth-grade borderline students in Saqqez City, Iran. METHODS: The research method was semi-experimental with pretest-posttest, with a control group. The statistical population included borderline students studying in the sixth grade of schools in Saqqez City, Kurdistan Province, Iran, in the academic year of 2021-2022. 24 borderline students were selected purposefully and randomly placed in two groups of 12 people, intervention and control. The educational program of cognitive games such as Lomocyte and Tetris was conducted in 8 sessions of 60 minutes twice a week for the test group. Then the simultaneous post-test was conducted for both performance groups and the data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and SPSS software. RESULTS: Cognitive games improved memory (P < 0.01), and they also caused the expansion of active memory, central processing, phonological loop, and visual-spatial memory. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this research and the importance of improving working memory, it is suggested that cognitive games be used in schools and medical centers to improve the working memory performance of borderline students.