PreK-12 Market Headlines
Glenwood Students Better Learners & Thinkers with BrainWare Safari
Learning Enhancement Corporation — Thursday, September 02, 2010
Study First Ever To Show Impact of Broad-based Cognitive Skills Development on Academics
GLENWOOD, IL (September 2, 2010) - Glenwood School for Boys and Girls first introduced BrainWare® Safari, an engaging software solution that builds the mind's capacity to learn, as part of the 2008-2009 school-year curriculum-eventually becoming the first school ever to show the impact that broad-based cognitive skills development has on academic performance for all students.
Glenwood School for Boys and Girls, a community supported non-profit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of disadvantaged students in the Chicagoland and Fox Valley regions, tested 96 students in grades 2-8 before and after having them use BrainWare Safari for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. The pilot program was conducted between September 2008 and February 2009.
The Glenwood students who used BrainWare Safari posted average improvements in grade equivalents (GE) for academic tests (reading, writing and math) between 0.5 GE (2nd Grade) and 2.9 GE (8th Grade). For cognitive tests, average improvement ranged from 1.5 GE to 3.0 GE. The results of the test show a clear relationship between improvement in the underlying attention, memory and other mental processing skills developed by BrainWare Safari and performance on academic tests.
Glenwood teachers noted improvements in many cognitive processing areas for students across the board. "I see BrainWare as an important part of our curriculum," said Anne Budicin, resource teacher and reading coordinator at Glenwood School. "The emphasis on visual, auditory and working memory is excellent. The program enables students to be better thinkers. Better thinkers are better learners."
Now, Glenwood School has implemented BrainWare Safari both as part of the regular curriculum and as part of its resource program, which focuses on games and activities that help improve skills specific to deficits in processing areas.
"Where BrainWare Safari makes a huge impact is helping us identify which area each individual student needs extra help in," said Mrs. Budicin. "In that way, it is very diagnostic in the classroom."
"The results noted by Glenwood School demonstrate how improving students' ability to learn, and then giving them good teachers and good curriculum, enables them to make dramatic strides in academic performance," commented Roger Stark, CEO of the company that developed and markets BrainWare Safari, Learning Enhancement Corporation. "Gains like this are critical to enabling students from disadvantaged backgrounds to close the performance gaps with their more fortunate counterparts. They really give learning-challenged students hope."
To watch Anne Budicin discuss how Glenwood School for Boys and Girls uses BrainWare Safari, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MwFQLhghR8. For more information on how BrainWare Safari can help in the classroom, visit www.MyBrainWare.com/education.
About Learning Enhancement Corporation
Learning Enhancement Corporation (LEC) has developed a software platform for learning that combines the latest neuroscience with motivating video-game technology. Since LEC won the EdNET Rookie of the Year Award in 2006, honoring the venture with the greatest potential to be a significant player in the education industry in the coming years, the company's software has been implemented in schools and districts across the U.S., with tens of thousands of students, where it has demonstrated its potential to help students at all levels.
LEC's flagship product, BrainWare Safari, develops 41 cognitive skills in a comprehensive and integrated manner and in an engaging video-game format. BrainWare Safari has won the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP), the Software and Information Industry (SIIA) CODiE Award as Best Education Game or Simulation, a Parents' Choice Award, a Teachers' Choice for the Family Award and a Mom's Choice Award. For further information, visit www.LearningEnhancement.com and www.MyBrainWare.com or call 877-BRAIN-10 (877-272-4610).
Contact: Betsy Hill, 312-239-2677, BHill@learningenhancement.com
