Games-based research trial to assess whether a Nintendo-DS game can improve children’s maths skills

Games-based research trial to assess whether a Nintendo-DS game can improve children’s maths skills.

Discipline:  Education   
Who: Professor David Miller    

A collaborative project between Dr. David Miller from ESWCE and Derek Robertson of Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS), recently published the results of their randomised controlled trial of Nintendo’s Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training on primary school pupils’ maths ability. The study, which involved over 600 pupils and 32 schools across the country, found that a daily dose of the Nintendo DS game improved pupils’ maths performance – both accuracy and speed of computation. Teachers also reported improvements in terms of social, behavioural and personal factors. This work, recently covered by The Times and Sky News, is significant in terms of IMPACT, since previous studies in this area have tended to be far smaller in scale, with little tangible performance data. In contrast, the design of this study allows educators to generalise the findings to schools across Scotland.

Scottish Institute for Policing Research Postgraduate Diploma in Policing Studies

‌New MSc to ‘create new leaders’ in policing

Discipline:  New MSc to ‘create new leaders’ in policing    
Who: Lynn Kelly

As part of the School’s suite of MSc Applied Professional Studies programmes, this brand new part-time MSc seeks to integrate contemporary policing practice with research, encouraging practitioners to engage creatively with the concerns of their profession. The programme offers a form of blended learning, and students will have the opportunity to attend tutorial sessions, seminars, presentations, invited speakers and discussion groups. Students can choose to leave with a PG Certificate or a PG Diploma in Policing Studies, or an MSc in Applied Professional Studies (Policing Studies), thus providing a variety of qualifications for police officers and staff who wish to engage with research within their profession, thus furthering their own careers, research and the police service.