Action game improves children’s reading skills
A video game developed by researchers from the Universities of Geneva and Trento improves children’s attention and reading skills. At least that is what an experiment with 150 Italian-speaking students suggests.
Fluent reading requires not only decoding words and sentences, but also targeted eye movements and the use of working memory. In order to specifically train these skills, the researchers led by Angela Pasqualotto from the University of Trento developed an action video game suitable for children has to do to save planets and progress in the game,” Pasqualotto was quoted as saying in a statement from the University of Geneva. The respective tasks have to be completed within a certain time limit.Better through actionFor the study, the children were divided into two groups. The first played the Raku game two hours a week. The researchers had the control group play a different game called “Scratch,” which requires planning, reasoning, and problem-solving. It was shown that the raku group had a seven-fold improvement in attentional control compared to the control group after the six-week training period. And while the action game doesn’t require direct reading, it significantly improved kids’ reading speed and accuracy. The researchers found no changes in the control group. The reading ability gained was also sustainable, as studies showed after six, twelve and 18 months. The children’s Italian grades also improved. The researchers now want to adapt the action game for German, French and English and check whether the positive effects also unfold in these languages.
Reference-www.krone.at
