Does the idea of applying for graduate school make you shudder at the thought of prepping for yet another standardized test? Don't you wish there was a way to increase your score that wouldn't feel like a waste of time? Brain fitness training may be just the answer you're looking for.
The GRE, MCAT and LSAT tests in large part try to assess and measure your problem-solving, logical, and analytical abilities. These skills all make demands on your fluid or innate intelligence and have little to do with question practice or test strategies. For a long time it was thought that fluid intelligence was fixed and immutable, but researchers have now shown that you can increase your fluid intelligence and general problem-solving ability with the right kind of brain training.
A team from the Universities of Michigan and Bern have demonstrated that we can increase our fluid intelligence by training our working-memory. The scientists devised a novel training protocol that progressively stretches and strengthens visual and aural working-memory with a single exercise. With just 19 days of training, the fluid intelligence scores for each person in the trained group increased by at least 40% more than those in a control group. This kind of cognitive improvement will lead to a significant benefit for anyone taking a graduate school entry test.
The other good news is that the team only published its research findings in April 2008, and so far most of your graduate-school competitors won't be tuned in to this new test prep method. And whereas typical test prep helps you increase your test scores but won't help you do better in school, this novel working-memory training boosts your attention and general problem-solving ability leading to overall enhancement in your thinking.
If you decide that you'd like to take advantage of this test prep approach, it's very important that you purchase the right training software. The researchers developed a particularly effective working-memory training protocol called "dual n-back." (In the interests of full disclosure, and to shorten your search, I was so impressed by the research that I employ the dual n-back method in my company's brain training program, Mind Sparke Brain Fitness Pro.)
With the economy tightening and jobs becoming more competitive, it's smart to increase your marketability with an advanced degree. And with the new findings on working-memory training, it's even smarter to prepare for your graduate entrance test with a good dose of brain training.
The GRE, MCAT and LSAT tests in large part try to assess and measure your problem-solving, logical, and analytical abilities. These skills all make demands on your fluid or innate intelligence and have little to do with question practice or test strategies. For a long time it was thought that fluid intelligence was fixed and immutable, but researchers have now shown that you can increase your fluid intelligence and general problem-solving ability with the right kind of brain training.
A team from the Universities of Michigan and Bern have demonstrated that we can increase our fluid intelligence by training our working-memory. The scientists devised a novel training protocol that progressively stretches and strengthens visual and aural working-memory with a single exercise. With just 19 days of training, the fluid intelligence scores for each person in the trained group increased by at least 40% more than those in a control group. This kind of cognitive improvement will lead to a significant benefit for anyone taking a graduate school entry test.
The other good news is that the team only published its research findings in April 2008, and so far most of your graduate-school competitors won't be tuned in to this new test prep method. And whereas typical test prep helps you increase your test scores but won't help you do better in school, this novel working-memory training boosts your attention and general problem-solving ability leading to overall enhancement in your thinking.
If you decide that you'd like to take advantage of this test prep approach, it's very important that you purchase the right training software. The researchers developed a particularly effective working-memory training protocol called "dual n-back." (In the interests of full disclosure, and to shorten your search, I was so impressed by the research that I employ the dual n-back method in my company's brain training program, Mind Sparke Brain Fitness Pro.)
With the economy tightening and jobs becoming more competitive, it's smart to increase your marketability with an advanced degree. And with the new findings on working-memory training, it's even smarter to prepare for your graduate entrance test with a good dose of brain training.
About the Author:
Oxford-trained scientist, author, and technologist, Martin G. Walker is a member of The British Neuroscience Association, Learning and The Brain, and MENSA. His company Mind Evolve Software publishes free information on the field of neuroscience and brain training as well as effective and affordable brain fitness software under the brand name Mind Sparke.
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