ELSPA, the Entertainment Leisure & Software Publishers Association today welcomes news of a pioneering study into the benefit of using games to improve learning which has found they can boost maths attainment. Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS), the main organisation for the development of the curriculum and for exploring the use of ICT in education, carried out an analysis of the effect of Nintendo’s Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training on pupils’ maths ability. It found a daily dose of the computer game improved pupils’ attainment in maths and their concentration and behaviour levels. The findings were revealed today (Thursday 25 September) at The Scottish Learning Festival.

More than 600 pupils and 32 schools across the country were involved in the project, which began in April.

The pupils were initially given a maths test before using Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training on the Nintendo DS for 20 minutes at the start of each day for nine weeks or continuing their class as normal. The game featured challenges including reading tests, problem-solving exercises and memory puzzles designed to exercise the brain while the control group continued their lessons in a more traditional manner.

When they were tested again at the end of the nine weeks the results found all groups involved had improved their scores but those using the game improved by a further 50% from 78 to 83 out of 100. The time taken to complete the tests also dropped by five minutes from 18.5 minutes to 13.5 minutes with the improvement of the games group more than twice as much as the control classes.

Less able children were also more likely to improve than the highest attainers and almost all pupils had an increased perception of their own ability. The study also found that it made no difference if the children had the game at home, pointing to the relevance of using it within an educational context, and there was no difference in ability between girls or boys.

There was also a notable improvement in absence and lateness in some classes involved with the project, pupil’s interpersonal relationships also improved and they were more inclined to take responsibility for management and ownership of the tasks involved such as distribution and collection of the consoles. There was also a slight, but statistically significant, improvement in attitude towards school by those in the games group.