Chalk it up to common sense or controlled experiment, but a recent study suggests that those who use their brain's untapped potential more frequently are more likely to perform better mentally. At the forefront of the research is Nintendo's popular and genre-defining game Brain Age (aka Brain Training) for the Nintendo DS in which the perpetually optimistic (yet strangely horrifying) Dr. Ryuta Kawashima acts as your virtual guide to daily brain stimulation across a variety of mental activities and mini-games.
More than 600 students from across 32 different schools particpated in the 9-week study, in which each played the game for 20 minutes prior to their regular classes, with a controlled group of students maintaining their regular study courses. The results were astounding, with those game player improving their scores an average of 50%, improved test taking, and overall increased confidence in their own abilities. Student also demonstrated improvements in behavior and concentration.
Even more results after the jump!
Headed by Learning and Teaching Scotland, the group also worked with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education and the University of Dundee to help implement the study on a larger scale and with a varied group of students. Although results demonstrated both tested and controlled groups improving their overall scores, the initial results clearly indicated that the interactive engagements exhibited in Brain Age could be a boon to educators - if properly implemented.
"Computer games help flatten out the hierarchy that exists in schools - they are in the domain of the learner as opposed to the domain of the school," says Derek Robertson, LTS's national adviser for emerging technologies and learning. "This intervention encouraged all children to engage and get success in a different contextual framework; one in which they don't know their place."
Special thanks to BBC News!
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