New ‘Puzzle Club’ magazine will help primary pupils with school work
The first ever puzzle magazine specifically created to support the National Curriculum is set to launch on 6 August 2014, following research proving that puzzles improve students’ engagement in learning.
‘Puzzle Club’ is a 64-page magazine that supports learning in the core subjects of the National Curriculum, specifically English, Mathematics and Science, for children aged 7 to 11 years old working towards or at Key Stage Two level (KS2).
The magazine has been developed by Puzzler Media, the UK’s foremost puzzle content provider, in conjunction with the world’s leading learning company, Pearson.
The launch comes as research report, “Puzzles in Education”, commissioned by Puzzler Media and compiled by the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, shows that using puzzles in addition to standard teaching materials, can improve student learning.
The research found that:
- Puzzles are motivating for students and encourage engagement with subjects
- Crosswords improve verbal fluency, and are effective and motivating tools for learning and revising
- Word games (such as crosswords and wordsearches) combined with traditional teaching, are more effective than traditional teaching alone in learning vocabulary
- Sudoku puzzles exercise working memory, and can be adapted to wider educational uses
Mark Whiteway, Publishing Manager at Puzzler Media, said: “Puzzle Club, our latest magazine, builds on the findings of this research report, and on years of feedback from our readers, confirming that puzzles both encourage and help them to learn.
“Puzzle Club offers children at KS2 level a wide variety of relevant, challenging, engaging and fun puzzles. Every puzzle has been designed to practise and improve key skills, such as problem-solving and writing fluency, or to impart and reinforce critical information and vocabulary from the National Curriculum.
“This magazine is the first of its kind and we’re confident in its ability to help children to enjoy learning in a non-pressured environment.”
Kath Donovan, Director of Primary at Pearson, said: “This research reveals the clear value of puzzles within educational practice. They can be engaging and motivating for students, yet, despite these benefits, they are not used enough.
“We’re delighted to have worked in partnership with Puzzler Media to produce ‘Puzzle Club’, which is an incredibly versatile product that can be used by teachers and parents alike.”
Puzzle Club is available in all WHSmiths, all good newsagents and supermarkets from 6 August 2014.
