Female teacher: Definitely, definitely. When you talk about mathematical development I, I can see in my class … I mean, we do math setting in the school, but I can see in my class children are quicker, see in mental maths in the morning the ones that … I can actually see the difference between the ones using Nintendos and the children coming from other classes that aren’t using Nintendos, I can see a big difference in just like the speed, especially in some of the pupils you’ve spoken to such as like Connor and David, can see a huge difference, with just the speed. And …
Male: Okay.
Female teacher: Yeah. And there’s a few girls in the class and they’re not very confident in maths, but I think that has helped them, I think using it has really helped them. And especially one of … another girl in the class goes through to support for learning for maths, but she’s come on, I think she’s definitely come on, and that was also mentioned by the support for learning teacher, Mrs Chirk.
Child: Well it’s made me smarter and I can do a lot more, I can do my work faster now when I’m like doing sums.
Male: Do you think so, you really feel that?
Child: Yes.
Male: Okay. What do you think?
Child: Well I’ve got two things. I think it’s made me better at doing my sums and quicker, and I thought it was a good idea to bring the Nintendos.
Male: You did think it was good idea?
Children: Yes.
Male: Why do you think it was a good idea?
Child: Because, well, people weren’t that good at sums, it’s helped everyone. From last time we weren’t, when we got the test we weren’t that good at it, and this time we’ve got like 7 minutes and 5 minutes and stuff.
Male: What do you think’s done that, do you think the game has helped?
Children: Yes.
Male: How has it helped?
Child: Because we’re smarter.
Male: Okay, we’re here with Gillian (unclear 1.44). Hello, Gillian.
Child: Hi.
Male: We’re here with Gillian Suitor, hello Gillian.
Child: Hi.
Male: And Rebecca McPherson, how are you?
Child: Hi.
Male: Good, good. Now listen, for the past ten weeks you’ve had a Nintendo DS in your classroom and you’ve been using Dr Kawashima’s. What do you think of it?
Child: I thought it was good just in every one because it got our brains thinking.
Male: Got your brains thinking, okay. What do you two think?
Child: I think like it makes you better at your sums because you’ve like got to concentrate, and your reading and that.
Male: And your reading as well. Anything else?
Child: And so, and you’ve got your like your syllable count and that.
Male: And what did that … what happened in that?
Child: You had to count all the syllables, so there’s a wee passage where you had to count all the syllables that was in it.
Male: Was that one difficult?
Child: Yeah.
Male: Was it?
Child: I got 41 seconds for that one.
Male: Oh, did you?
Child: Yeah.
Male: And what speed did you get then, did you get … was that rocket speed or was that …?
Child: Rocket speed.
Male: Was that rocket speed?
Child: Yes.
Male: Fantastic, that’s really good, that’s really good.
Child: And I do stuff like 20 calculations and a 100.
Male: Okay, so the calculations x20 and x100, do you do that every day?
Child: Yeah.
Male: And what did you think of that?
Child: I thought it was good because at first it was like a minute and then I got down to 22 seconds.
Male: Well there’s three of the boys from this 6/7 class, that’s a level D/E maths setting class, come straight from the primary 6/7 class to the 5/6 that are involved in the project about 5 past 9 every morning Monday to Friday. Those three boys come straight back in at half past 9 to the daily activities for level D/E and what I would say about the three boys that I’ve worked with daily on it, their mental ability is a lot quicker, a lot more astute now as well, to the extent that I feel that when we’re doing interactive mental maths they’re the first ones to answer out, they’re the first ones to get involved in it, and usually if not a hundred per cent of the time their answers are bang on, especially when it comes to mental calculation.
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