الفهرس 
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Abstract
Scientific developments bring many changes to the learning approaches which provided a better understanding on how the human brain learns. It caused a new learning approach to arise as” brain based learning strategy” which is a student centered approach that provided a better way of thinking about the learning process. It seated principles, the base of knowledge and skills through which learner can make his learning decisions. Jensen concluded that BBL is a multidisciplinary approach built on the fundamental question” what is good for the brain” which establishes connections between brain functions and educational practice to form learning in accordance with the way the brain is naturally designed.
Brain based learning strategy is based on accepting the rules of how the brain processes, organizes instruction and bears these rules in mind to achieve meaning¬ful learning. It empowered the brain to perform several activities at once and store the same information in multiple areas of the brain. The success of BBL leads to active learning and constructing new knowledge based on prior knowledge in the real-world setting in real situations.
Research aim
This study aimed to determine the effect of using brain based learning strategy on nursing students’ achievement and information retention indicators.
Research hypotheses
1. Students who are taught by brain based learning strategy show higher achievement grades than those who are not.
2. Students who are taught by brain based learning strategy show higher information retention than those who are not.
3. Students who are taught by brain based learning strategy show higher scores in Visual, Auditory, Reading and Writing and Kinesthetic test (VARK) than those who are not.
4. Students who are taught by brain based learning strategy show higher scores in multiple intelligences test than those who are not.
5. Students who are taught by brain based learning strategy become both brain sides dominant with various degrees than those who are not.
Materials
Setting
The study was conducted at the Auditory and Visual library, Nursing Education department, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University.
Subjects
The subjects of this study comprised 80 nursing students, selected randomly according to systemic random sampling (every other one) to represent 250 undergraduate nursing students who were registered in” Educational Strategies in Nursing course” during the first semester of the academic year (2015-2016). The subjects were assigned randomly into two equal groups; study and control, 40 students for each. They were selected according to EPI Info 7 program estimation.
Tools
The study was carried out using the following tools
Tool I: Visual, Aural, Reading/Writing and Kinesthetic (VARK) inventory. It was developed by Fleming in 1987 and the last version 7.8 developed in 2010(163) which was used in this study. It was adopted by the researcher to assess the learning preferences or styles of nursing students.
Tool II: Alert Scale of Cognitive Style. It was developed by Crane in 1989(164) and adopted by the researcher to assess students’ brain dominance either right, left or doubled with various degrees.
Tool III: Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Test. It was developed by Gardner in 2007 (165) and adopted by the researcher to assess the types of student’s multiple intelligences.
Tool IV: Achievement Retention Test. It developed by the researcher after reviewing the related literature and course objectives to measure the students’ achievement and information retention level.
Tool V: Brain Based Learning Strategy Feedback (BBLSF).It was developed by the researcher to assess the students’ feedback about the application of BBLS.
Method
Tools I, II, III were translated into Arabic by the researcher.
Tools’ content validity was tested by a jury of five experts in the related field and the necessary modifications were made which include some modifications in translation from English to Arabic language.
Tools I, II, III were tested for their reliability and the tools were reliable.
A pilot study was carried out on 10% of the sample size to ascertain the clarity and applicability of the tools. Results of this study revealed that all tools were clear and applicable and no modifications were made.
The students were allocated randomly as:
• Study group (I): it comprised 40 nursing students; they received BBLS lecturing during the conduction of the Education Strategies in the nursing course.
• Control group (II): it comprised 40 nursing students; they received traditional lecturing in Nursing Education department during the same course.
Data collection was carried out during the first semester of the academic year 2015-2016.
The tools (I, II, III) were used two times as a pretest before the BBLS application (after 6 weeks of the course beginning) and a posttest after the application (after 11 weeks of the course beginning) while tool IV was measured three times; as pretest, as an achievement posttest and as an information retention test after 3 weeks of finishing the BBLS application (after14 weeks of the course).
Developing the BBLS pomodoro lesson plan which was carried out through three phases: preparation, implementation and evaluation phase
1. The Preparatory phase
In this phase the researcher tried to find a real meaning to the new concept through adequate preparation for the researcher, content and orchestrated immersion.
2. The Implementation phase
In this phase the researcher implemented the brain based learning strategy pomodoro lesson plan through a pretest, orchestrated immersion, relaxed alertness and active processing.
3. The Evaluation phase
In this phase the researcher assessed students in both study and control groups to evaluate their learning styles, multiple intelligences, brain dominance and achievement retention level using tools I, II, III and IV at the end of the sessions. Feedback was measured from the study group students using tool V.
The following are the main results yielded by the present study
Related to VARK style
There were statistically significant differences between the study and control groups in favor of the study group and also within the study group after the application of BBLS regarding visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic and total VARK (0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between brain dominance and VARK mode in the study group after the application of BBLS (0.050). The modals/styles of almost all the students in the study group were changed from unimodal and bimodal to be multimodal.
Related to Alert scale of cognitive style
There were statistically significant differences between the study and control groups in favor of the study group and also within the study group before and after application regarding dominance specifics, total, mean and standard deviation of alert scale of cognitive style (0.001 ,0.002, 0.001,0.028) respectively. The majority of the students in the study group were converted from left or right dominance to bilateral brain dominance.
Related to multiple intelligences test
There were statistically significant differences between the study and control groups and also within the study group after the application of BBLS in relation to linguistic, logical, musical, visual, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic and existential intelligences (0.001*).
Related to the achievement retention test
There were statistically significant differences between the study and control groups in favor of the study group and also within study group after the application of BBLS in relation to the achievement and retention tests (0.001). All the study group students’ were converted from low achievement before the application to high achievement and retention level after the application.
Related to relations
There were relations between personal and academic characteristics and VARK modes, multiple intelligences, brain dominances and achievement retention tests related to the study group after the application of BBLS. Also there were relations between brain dominance and VARK, multiple intelligences and achievement retention tests after the application of BBLS related to the study group.
Related to brain based learning feedback
Three quarters of the students lost their attention and concentration after10 minutes while one quarter lost their attention after 20 minutes. Related to the students’ opinions’ in BBLS as a method of teaching, more than two thirds of them described it as a very effective method and less than one third described as an excellent. All the students mentioned the benefits of BBLS as a method of learning as it helped them to concentrate, non-poring strategy, reduced time for studying, improved achievement.
All of them described benefits from VARK style as helped them to understand their learning pattern and provided easier method for studying while brain dominance helped them to understand their brain and organize their brains’ maps. Determining multiple intelligences helped them to identify their intelligence areas and how to improve them. All the students determined Alfa music benefits as, promoted relaxation, decreased their tension, improved concentration and information retrieval and promoted internal psychological calmness. All of them stated that brain gym stimulated their brain and restored concentration and thinking power. Also all of them determined that brain games stimulated their brain and restored their attention span.
It can be concluded from the present study that
Brain based learning strategy is a unique effective teaching and learning strategy that played an important role in enhancing the students’ brain function, learning abilities, attention span, information processing, memory activation and decreased their failure rate.
It improved the four indicators of achievement and retention, as it changed the students’ VARK style from unimodal, bimodal to be multimodal. In addition, students’ brain dominance changed from right, left to be bilateral brain dominance. Moreover, it improved their multiple intelligences from negative with low scores to be positive with high scores in all intelligences. Finally, it improved their knowledge achievement and retention of information.
The following are the main recommendations of the study
Related to the nurse educators
- Develop and conduct BBLS workshops to all nurse educators at the faculty of nursing, Alexandria University to raise their awareness about the importance and the application of BBL strategy.
- Encourage educators to use BBL macro and micro strategies with their students to improve their learning skills and activate their memories.
- Encourage the educators to apply the Alfa music during their students’’ teaching to develop a more relaxed atmosphere for teaching.
- Train the educators about the correct ways of applying brain gym and brain games exercises.
- Develop a BBL guide that includes the ideal techniques of using Alfa music, brain gym, brain games and how to prepare the learning environment and distribute it to all the faculty departments.
Related to the faculty
- Add brain based learning strategy as a method of teaching in the undergraduate and postgraduate curricula.
- Develop curricula based on brain based learning.
- Conduct brain based learning strategy workshops in Faculty Leadership Development center (FLDC).
Recommendations for further studies
- Study the effect of brain based learning strategy on communication skills.
- Study the effect of brain based learning strategy on practicing skills.
- Study the effect of brain based learning strategy on the educators’ teaching skills.
- Study the effect of brain gym compared to brain game on the achievement and retention.
- Replicate the study on a large group of students in different departments.