Computer games make you good at math

London, Sept 26 : A daily dose of computer games can boost students' scores on standard math tests, says a new research.

The study, which was carried out in Scottish schools, was conducted by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) - the main organisation for the development of the curriculum.

In the research, experts analysed the effect of a "brain training" game.

The study involved more than 600 pupils in 32 schools across Scotland using the Brain Training from Dr Kawashima game on the Nintendo DS every day.

In the study, a group of pupils played the game, which included reading tests, problem-solving exercises and memory puzzles, for 20 minutes at the start of their class for nine weeks.

A control group continued their lessons in a more traditional manner.

The pupils were tested at the beginning and then the end of the study.

Analysis revealed that while all groups had improved their scores, the group using the game had improved by a further 50percent.

The time taken to complete the tests also dropped by five minutes, from 18.5 minutes to 13.5 minutes. The improvement in the games group was double that of the control group. "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," BBC quoted Derek Robertson, LTS's national adviser for emerging technologies and learning, as saying.

"This intervention encouraged all children to engage and get success in a different contextual framework; one in which they don't know their place," he added.

ANI