Dealing with the problem of the differences in students' learning styles in Physics education via the brain based teaching approach

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Brain Based Teaching Approach (BBTA) in dealing with the problem of the differences in students' learning styles concerning the subject of Physics education, at the Form Four secondary school level in Malaysia. The assessment technique employed was based on the Brain Based Learning Principles, a brain compatible strategy. This strategy focuses its attention and consideration on seven major steps: (i) Activation, (ii) Clarify the outcome and paint big picture of the lesson, (iii) Making connection, (iv) Doing the learning activity, (v) Demonstrate student understanding, (vi) Review for student recall and retention / Closure and (vii) Preview the new topic. The effectiveness of the teaching approach via BBTA, within the targeted context, was then assessed in a quasi-experimental research approach involving 200 students from two Science Secondary Schools in the northern states of peninsular Malaysia. Students' preferred learning styles were then determined via the Students' Learning Style Questionnaire, while their Physics understanding achievement were assessed through the Test of Newtonian Physics Conceptual Understanding. The findings of this research showed that this teaching approach was effective in dealing with the problems aforementioned. It concludes that more students from the group that provided with the Brain Based Teaching Approach possessed a better conceptual understanding Physics, compared to the group that was taught using the conventional method.