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This study examined the effectiveness of Mind Mapping (a diagram of the structure of ideas in an associative manner, using graphics, color and key words) as a note-taking device in a training course in a large, high-tech corporation, as compared to traditional note-taking. The population for this study consisted of personnel employed by a major high-tech firm, that had voluntarily registered for a Mind Mapping training class. The effect of Mind Mapping was measured by the pre-test and post-test of the control and experimental groups.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate Brain Based Learning (BBL) techniques in teaching science. Participants included 216 K-12, full-time, regular education teachers from 8 Northeast Tennessee school systems who taught at least 1 science class. Specifically this research was guided by 7 research questions on teachers’ perceptions and practices in teaching science. Data were collected by a survey that consisted of 82 statements where teachers rated their level of agreement and was distributed online via Survey Monkey. The first portion of my survey included demographic identifiers, teachers’ knowledge of the term BBL, and inquiries regarding science background and training. The remainder of the statements were focused on teachers’ perceptions and practices of BBL strategies in teaching science. The final item was open-ended and allowed teachers to share comments related to teaching science. For statements 6-81, participants responded by using a 5-point Likert scale that ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Quantitative data were analyzed with a series of independent samples t tests, one-way analysis of variance tests, and a Pearson correlation coefficient. The results of the study indicate that teachers’ perceptions are positively correlated to their self-reported practices. Females, in general, and elementary teachers tend to practice BBL strategies in teaching science significantly more than other subgroups.

This thesis discusses brain-based methodology and how educators can use brain-based techniques to impact, support, and advance cognitive growth. Current research on learning and memory is enabling educators to better understand how the brain learns and what environmental factors assist in or detract from student learning. Brain-based learning techniques are considered by brain-based researchers as one way to create a learning environment that fosters student learning at individual academic levels while concurrently challenging each student and promoting academic growth. Teachers can further student academic advancement through the direct manipulation of the classroom environment rather than by purchasing a particular program that promises results.

The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, association exists between Thinking Maps® instruction and student achievement in fifth grade students in Reading/Language and Mathematics as reported by the State NCE scores of the criterion referenced portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test in 3 Title I elementary schools in northeast Tennessee. The association was examined after 2 years of Thinking Maps® implementation and instruction. Using a quantitative design, the quasiexperimental study included fifth grade students' State NCE scores from 2005 and the same students' State NCE scores from 2003. Scores obtained by fifth grade students who received Thinking Maps® instruction were examined for differences in Reading/Language and Mathematics and were also compared with scores obtained by fifth grade students who did not receive Thinking Maps® instruction for the same 2-year period. Paired t-tests and a 3-factor repeated measures design, repeated on 1 factor, were used to investigate differences in achievement as categorized by Thinking Maps® instruction or no Thinking Maps®instruction for 2 years. The results of the study indicated that there was a significant difference for the Reading/Language means for students after 2 years of Thinking Maps implementation but not a significant difference for Mathematics. There was not a significant difference between the two treatment schools in either Reading/Language or Mathematics. The 2 treatment schools had different percentages economically disadvantaged students. The results of the study also indicated that there was a significant 2-way interaction for Year by School in Reading/Language between 1 treatment school and the control school, the 2 schools with similar percentages of economically disadvantaged students. The findings of the tests of simple effect for the differences between the 2003 and 2005 Reading/Language means for the treatment school showed the 2005 Reading/Language mean was over 7 points higher than the 2003 Reading/Language mean. The findings of the tests of simple effect for the differences between the 2003 and 2005 Reading/Language means for the control school were also significant with the 2005 Reading/Language mean being 6 points lower than the 2003 Reading/Language mean.

The performance measures from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study revealed no measurable growth in the U.S. average reading scores of 4th graders for the period between 2011 and 2016. Therefore, the diverse learning needs of students need to be customized if the education system is to accomplish its goal to graduate well-informed individuals capable of sustaining a lifestyle conducive to a democratic society. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of differentiated instruction on 3rd graders' reading comprehension. The theoretical foundation for this teaching approach was Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. The research question focused on a comparison of differentiated and nondifferentiated instruction and the effects on 3rd graders' Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) reading comprehension scores. In this cross-sectional, quasi-experimental causal comparative study with N = 128 3rd-grade students, archival PARCC reading scores for the years 2015, 2016, and 2017 were analyzed with several 2-tailed independent sample t tests to determine the differences between the groups. The students in the experimental group (n = 64) received differentiated instruction, students in the non-experimental group received nondifferentiated instruction (n = 64). The duration of the intervention lasted for the entire school year. The statistical analysis results revealed that differentiated instruction significantly improved the students' PARCC reading scores in all 3 years. The intimation for positive social change is allowing stakeholders to provide opportunities to teachers to learn and apply differentiated instruction for their students, thus helping them to become proficient readers, which in turn might increase the human capital contributing to and competing in a global society.

This study was prompted by the recent increase in academic and public interest in neuromusical brain research, which provides information about how the brain processes music. It is the task of neural science to explain how the individual units of the brain are used to control behaviour, and how the functioning of these units is influenced by an individual's specific environment and relationships with other people. However, the concept of neuromusical research is relatively new to music education. In any learning experience, brain processing (of information) is not an end in itself. The skill of 'thinking' is dependent on the whole integrated mind/body system, with skills being a manifestation of conscious physical responses that demonstrate knowledge acquisition. Howard Gardner's 'Theory of Multiple Intelligences' lists the musical intelligence as one of eight autonomous intelligences: linguistic, logic-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental. All of these intelligences can be developed to a reasonably high level. This thesis uses David Elliott's praxial philosophy as a conceptual basis. Elliott's four meanings of music education: education in music, by music, for music, and by means of music, have been selected to determine the parameters for an 'inclusive' understanding of musical intelligence. Scientific research findings, brain based data, and behavioural results with educational implications have been used to define what is meant by the musical intelligence, and its role in whole brain learning. Whole brain learning (also referred to as 'accelerated' learning or 'super' learning) is examined in the framwork of IQ (intellectual quotient/intelligence), EQ (emotional intelligence), and SQ (spiritual intelligence). It is important to note that the brain imposes certain constraints on the learning ability of individuals, but that there are also numerous benefits to be derived from an awarenss of brain functions pertaining to education in general and music education in particular. These constraints and benefits are an important feature of whole brain learning, with the musical intelligence playing a vital role. / Dissertation (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Music / unrestricted

For this project the brain-based theory of learning, an eclectic theory that incorporates the cognitive and humanistic views was researched. Multimedia, a technology which supports the principles of brain-based learning, was then selected as the vehicle to present historical materials to students.

Adolescence is a turbulent time and a critical transformational phase during which major physical, emotional, cognitive and social shifts occur. The objective of this study is to explore ways in which female adolescents can acquire anger management skills. The study proposes that emotional competency is cultivated as a result of the neurological plasticity of the brain and by applying learning material based on the work of scholars in the fields of neuroscience and Applied Drama. Adolescence is an opportune time for girls to learn emotional competency skills as the incomplete development of the prefrontal area of the brain makes them more inclined to risk taking and less aware of logical thinking processes. The study indicates that anger floods the body with secretions like cortisol and adrenaline, blocking logical thinking. Angry incidences can have destructive consequences for relationships. The empirical study includes discussions of training levels for anger management, such as the identification of anger-related emotions and anger styles, understanding anger, and curbing angry expressions through assertive communication. As anger management is a practical aptitude, the empirical study applied selected Process Drama conventions (as modes of Applied Drama), specifically role play, tableaux, Mantle of the Expert and dramatized poetry. The benefit of these conventions lies in the facility with which they can alternate between dual modes of engagement and learning content. Process Drama launches the workshops’ participants into a make-believe world in which they can identify with a situation from the inside out while simultaneously observing the situation from the outside in, a phenomenon called metaxis. The female adolescent, while protective of her social relationships, can safely enter a fictitious world and face the problems raised by anger without jeopardizing her privacy or dealing with real-life emotions. The convention of dramatized poetry enabled creative expression as the participants wrote their own poems to personalize their insight into their need for anger management. While the methodology was being practised, it was also assessed. As the outcomes of the learning objectives were the participants’ responsibility, I could assess during the activities if they accommodated learning objectives in their biography. In this study the participants were, for example, not able to fully utilize the skill of assertive communication. The integrity of the methodology of Process Drama for girls was affirmed when it was successfully combined with the principles of brain-based learning. The literature review and the outcomes of the empirical study confirmed that Process Drama adheres to the principles of brain-based learning which is, inter alia, physiological, social and emotional, and occurs in tandem with the developmental phase of the participant. The research study is the culmination of various disciplines and an endeavour to present a multimodal anger management programme that incorporates the adolescent female on a cognitive, emotional and physical level, and in a sound collaborative environment. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lk2014 / Drama / DPhil / Unrestricted

The aim of this study was to determine the possible successes and pitfalls in implementing a process to accelerate learning and raise learner performance through a multiple intelligence approach. A study of the theory of Multiple Intelligences was conducted which also implied a thorough study of the physiology of the brain, how it learns and how it should be utilised in the classroom. A case study was conducted amongst the learners and teachers of a specific school to determine their ability, willingness to change and their performance in the application of Multiple Intelligences in the classroom. The challenges associated with the implementation of the MI approach were established through different methods. It was found that teachers have much more difficulty in adapting to a new teaching approach than the learners. Time constraints, constant monitoring and support, teacher training, teachers' attitude to change, big classes, a lack of resources and teacher resistance added to the reality which policy makers have to consider in implementing a new approach. / EDUCATIONAL STUDIES / MED (DIDACTICS)