Varghese, Mary George. (2012). A STUDY OF INTERACTIVE INFLUENCE OF BRAIN-BASED-LEARNING AND HEMISPHERICITY OF STUDENTS OF STANDARD VIII ON THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY, STUDY HABITS AND STRESS. Published. Ph.D., Education. Mumbai University.

The objectives of the study were: 1.To develop an instructional package based on brain–based learning. 2.To analyze the hemispheric preferences of students of experimental and control groups. 3.To compare experimental and control groups on pre-test scores of the following variables. a.Academic Achievement
b.Stress c.Study Habits of students 4.To compare experimental and control groups on post-test scores of the following variables: a.Academic Achievement
b.Stress c.Study Habits of students 5.To ascertain the interactive influence of Brain-based learning and hemispheric preferences of the experimental group on the following variables: a.Academic Achievement b.Stress c.Study Habits of students
The study had following hypothesis: 1) There is no significant difference between experimental and control groups on pre-test scores of the following variables: a. Academic Achievement b. Stress  c. Study Habits of students 2) There is no significant difference between the experimental and control groups on post-test scores of the following variables: a. Academic Achievement b. Stress  c. Study Habits of students 3) There is no significant an interactive influence of brain-based learning and hemisphericity of the experimental group on the basis of following variables: a. Academic Achievement b. Stress c. Study Habits of students

The study was carried out on a sample of 240 students from 4 schools in which two were private-aided 120 students and two were private-unaided 120 students. Three stage sampling technique was used to select the sample in which at the first stage, stratified random sampling was used for selecting private-aided and private un aided schools. At the second stage, through simple random sampling (lottery method) schools were assigned to the experimental and control groups and at the third stage, the sampling technique used was incidental sampling in order to select students.
The tools used in the study included Educational Hemisphericity (Venkatraman 1996),  Achievement Test in Biology(Researcher-made), Study Habits Inventory Scale(Ferris, 2001),  Stress (D’souza, 2007).

The pre-test, post test Quasi-Experimental method was selected for the study .The design adopted was factorial design. Experimental group constituted students which are selected randomly and they underwent experimental treatment namely brain based learning strategy .the investigator taught 25 lessons through brain based learning strategies .The same number of lessons taught through lecture method in the control group simultaneously.

The researchers designed appropriate  learning and teaching strategy based on the three basic teaching strategies of brain-based learning, namely orchestrated immersion’, relaxed alertness’, and active processing’. The lesson transcripts designed were incorporated the 12 basic principles of brain-based learning. The treatment hours spread over 25 lesson transcripts each of 40 minutes duration. The overall treatment period consists of 18 hours including the testing periods.

t-test, ANOVA, ANCOVA were used for the analysis of the data

The findings of the study were: 1.There is an effect of the treatment on academic achievement in biology of VIII students. The post test scores of the experimental group are found to be significantly greater than that of the control group.2. The effect size was found to be very high in the case of academic achievement. There is a significant effect of treatment on total stress. A significant variation is found in the stress levels of students from the experimental groups. The post test scores on total stress is significantly less than that of the control group. The difference could observe in the academic stress, examination stress and also in the social stress of students from the experimental groups.  Thus the treatment is very effective in reducing the stress factor of the students. 3.There is a significant effect of treatment on study habits of students. The post test scores on study habits of students from the experimental groups are significantly higher than that of the control group. The treatment is found to be effective in improving the study habits of students. The effect size for study habits is found very high.Thus the treatment is effective in improving the academic achievement in Biology, reducing the stress levels of students and thereby enables better study habits among students. The possible reasons are as follows:The treatment i.e, Brain-Based Learning operates according to the principles of brain research. So it stimulates optimal learning among the learners.  The learning occurs in a relaxed environment and it ensures the maximum involvement of the senses and the learner is entirely immersed in the learning situation. So it results in the concrete and meaningful learning of the subject matter which will stimulate the short-term as well as long term memory of the learner and it delays the learning platue too. Since the learning environment provides scope for the registration and verification of the learning, it fosters better study habits among the students. Brain- based learning assists the students in planning, prioritizing, goal setting, and also ensures free interaction, discussion and processing /annotating /rewriting and reading in systematic ways which necessitate better study habits among students.Moreover the brain-based learning gives immediate response to the learner it takes out the stress to a greater extent. Since the treatment has the potential to foster better study habits, it brings out the maximum learning output for the students. It also provides immense scope for pooling of ideas and collective brain- functioning, gives better association and accommodation of content matter. Moreover it gives the impact of collective as well as individualistic learning. So it gives a therapeutic effect to the learner by curbing unnecessary anxieties on studies. 4.There is no effect of gender on academic achievement, stress- academic stress, examination stress and social stress and total stress. However there is a significant interactive influence of gender on study habits. The possible reason could be as follows: 5.There is no effect of intelligence on academic achievement, stress- academic stress, examination stress, social stress separately and in total stress. 6.There is a significant effect of intelligence on study habits of students. Moreover a significant interaction of intelligence on academic achievement and study habits of students.7.There is no significant effect of hemisphericity on academic achievement, stress- academic stress, examination stress and social stress and total stress and study habits of students. 8.There is a significant interactive effect of hemisphericity on academic achievement and social stress of students. However the study found that the treatment Brain-Based Learning is effective in improving the academic achievement, reducing the stress and enhancing the study habits among students.

Education is a light that shows the mankind the right direction to surge. The purpose of education is not just making a student literate but adds rationale thinking, knowledge ability and self sufficiency. A willingness to change brings progress in any field. Creativity can be developed and innovation benefits both students and teachers. The researcher found that the teaching would be highly effective if the teachers start using the principles of brain research in their classrooms. What had begun in neuroscience has crossed over into established educational practices in working classrooms to find difficult answers in the ever changing environments of the twenty-first century. This study  threw light on the cutting edges of research .The findings of the study has a major bearing on the curriculum planners to explore new dimensions to keep students as well as teachers abreast with new explosions in research. The brain-based learning as a teaching strategy it brings the shift from teaching to learning, student - centered approach, construction of learning environments, active learning and learning strategies. It also provides scope for self-organized and self-directed learning along with interactive and collaborative learning and learning become authentic and situated learning.The use of brain-based learning strategies in educational institutions has the potential not only to improve education, but also to empower people, strengthen governance and galvanize the effort to achieve the human development goal for the country. The present study on brain-based learning and hemisphericity shows that it has got a significant influence on student’s academic achievement, their stress level and it has the potential to make a remarkable change in students study habits also. The research finding supports that it develops dynamic interaction and more teacher-pupil collaboration, which leaves scope for better stress management options, which is a burning issue in the education sector. The findings of the research brought advantages of a holistic view of the classroom, taking the physical and affective dimensions of learners into account if their cognitive side is to function optimally. Within this perspective, the incorporation of brain-based learning and hemispheric dominance is an effective way to broaden both the goals and the range of tools at disposal for teaching in the Indian context. The study should act as a light house of further research in the Indian context. Teaching occupy a central position in the developments of a country; good education its concern. The teacher, the taught and the locale where teaching takes place are the integers that attract our attention

Keyword(s): Brain-Based Learning , Hemisphericity, Academic Achievement, Study Habit, Stress, Innovative Teaching Technique