Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory

Abstract This study explores the metacognitive abilities of students with high working memory capacity in the context of solving mathematical problems. The measuring instruments include two researcher-developed tests, a structured interview, and the Working memory index from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale. The total 262 nine-year-old female students from Tehran were randomly selected to participate in the study. From this group, 31 highly proficient students with strong working memory were selected. Data analysis indicated that the students rarely engaged in conscious retrieval of prior knowledge during problem-solving. Approximately 61% of participants showed no evidence of strategic effort when encountering unfamiliar mathematical tasks. Moreover, 90% reported that they never asked themselves reflective questions. While students recognized practice as a helpful factor, their approach was largely imitative, often modeled after teachers or parents. These findings suggest a predominant reliance on automatic, habitual strategies rather than deliberate, goal-directed engagement with the problem-solving process. The findings highlights a significance gap between cognitive capacity and metacognitive strategy use in high-working-memory students. Despite their cognitive advantage, these students rarely employed reflective practices when solving problems, indicating that current instructional approaches may emphasize rote repetition over strategic thinking. This tendency appears particularly pronounced within teacher-centered educational contexts. To address this imbalance, curricula should incorporate explicit metacognitive training, including guided strategy-transfer exercises, problem classification activities, and structured reflection protocols. Such interventions may enhance students’ ability to engage in adaptive problem-solving and could contribute to improved outcomes in international mathematics assessments, particularly within educational systems like Iran’s.

Abstract In order to better understand the relationship between problem solving and empathy, this study looked into the mediating roles of working memory and attentional control. The descriptive-correlation research design was used for this study. All of the students in Zahedan city who were enrolled in classes made up the statistical population of the study With roughly 40,000 students. 500 Zahedan City students were chosen as participants in this study using the cluster sampling method. The problem-solving questionnaire by Hepner and Petersen(1982), the attentional control scale(2013), the empathy questionnaire by Jolliffe and Farrington(2006), and the working memory questionnaire(2012) were all used to gather data. The data were analyzed using SPSS and Amos software using descriptive and inferential statistical methods like Pearson correlation and structural equation modeling. The direct approach to problem solving is detrimental and requires attention (-0.518). Additionally, the non-significant direct relationship between working memory and cognitive emotional empathy (-0.060). There is a negative and significant direct path of attention to cognitive emotional empathy (0.219). The direct correlation between cognitive emotional empathy and problem solving is negative and significant (-0.463). the indirect effect of problem solving on empathy with the mediation of attentional control is favorable and significant (P < 0.01). In general, the findings of the research indicate that paying attention to the role of mediating factors in the relationship between problem solving and empathy is of particular importance, and considering the indirect effects of problem solving on empathy, interventions can be designed to promote empathy.