Neuroplasticity-Based “Video Game” Training Improves Students’ Writing Skills

• In Event: Translating Scientific and Technological Advances From the Laboratory to the Classroom: It’s About Time

Abstract

Purpose:

Evaluate the effectiveness of Fast ForWord®, a series of computer-based perceptual, cognitive and linguistic training exercises, based on neuroscience research, for improving public school students’ writing skills.

Perspectives The Fast ForWord® family of products was designed to incorporate behavioral variables known to drive neuroplastic changes in the brain. These include: (1) sustained attention to frequent, intense, and consistent input trials; (2) individually adaptive trials, based on each student’s trail-by-trial performance, (3) precisely timed feedback so that neuromodulators important for learning can be released; (4) timely rewards to maintain motivation; and (5) corrective feedback on error trials to drive learning of new material (Recanzone et.al, 1992). Research shows that methods focused on improving a student’s oral language skills, from the phonological to the grammatical level of analysis, result in improved reading abilities (Tallal, 2004). Given the strong relationship between spoken and written language, we hypothesized that methods focusing on improving the foundational perceptual and cognitive skills underlying language development, when coupled with instruction informed by neuroplasticity research, might result in improved writing skills.

Methods:

Using a randomized control group, experimental design, 80 middle school students took the Oral and Written Language Scales (OWLS) Written Expression Scale at the beginning and end of a 45-day marking period. The OWLS is a standardized, authentic writing assessment addressing the elements of Standard Edited American English (SEAE) including: use of conventions (e.g., spelling, punctuation, capitalization), linguistics (e.g., modifiers, verb forms, sentence structure), and content (e.g., relevance, support, word choice; Carrow-Woolfolk, 1996). Students were randomly assigned to the Experimental or Control group. The Experimental group (N=39) was trained using Fast ForWord Literacy® (FFL) and Fast ForWord Reading Level 2® (FFR2) computer software and the Control group (N=41) was not. Both the Control and Experimental groups received the same standards-based language arts curriculum at school.

Results:

The Experimental group made statistically greater improvement (pre- vs. posttest scores) in their writing skills than the Controls as measured by the OWLS Written Expression (effect size of cohen’s d = 0.65). The increase from pretest to posttest scores for the Experimental group was statistically significant (t(38) = -9.53, p < .001) with an effect size much larger than typical (d = 1.12 which is > |1.00|; Becker, 2000). The results were significant across all domains of writing: content, linguistics, and conventions.

Significance:

Results from this study demonstrate that training basic cognitive, language, and reading comprehension skills generalize to improvements in writing skills, despite the fact that writing skills per se were not directly trained. These results support a link between the development of language comprehension and writing skills as well as the use of cognitive neuroscience to inform educational instruction. Because Fast ForWord has been translated and scaled into a computer-based format for classroom use, has been demonstrated to improve writing skills, and is widely available commercially, it has the potential to significantly improve the literacy skills of our students.

Author

• Beth A. Rogowsky, Rutgers University