Posts Tagged ‘education’

Scottish Study: Computer games boost maths scores

Saturday, September 27th, 2008
Scottish Schoolchildren Brain Training

Scottish Schoolchildren Brain Training

Collaborating with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education and the University of Dundee, Teaching and Learning Scotland measured the effects of using the Nintendo Brain Age game for twenty minutes per day over a ten week period. In comparison to a control group the students improved scores on a post test by more than 50%.

With 32 schools and 600 children, this study confirmed the findings of an earlier smaller study in Dundee.

More evidence of plasticity and the value of brain training.

Working memory and academic success

Monday, September 8th, 2008
Lynn Carahaly

Lynn Carahaly

On Friday I introduced my 15-year old daughter Dorothy to training with Brain Fitness Pro. As Dot notes in her blog post she struggles with tests and with quantitative concepts. We’re both hoping that by strengthening her working-memory she’ll have a more successful time at school. This morning I saw a post from Lynn Carahaly (ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist for The Alcott Center for Cognitive Enhancement, LLC) talking about the critical role of working-memory for academic success.

Lynn gives a clear compelling perspective of someone in the field of learning skills:

“A limited working memory capacity often results in the loss of crucial information when trying to follow instructions. If information is not stored properly, or at all, a child cannot retrieve this information for future tasks or build upon prior information for learning. Children with working memory deficits demonstrate difficulty remembering information from one lesson to the next.”

She also refers to a study by researchers from the University of York who found that working memory capacity for children as young as four years old is a predictor of academic success.

All of which confirms and strengthens my conviction that effectively using neuroplasticity to our advantage will be a significant development in the world of learning and education.