Neuroscepticism: investigating teachers’ experiences using a Whole Brain Teaching method

The integration of neuroscience into teaching programs is developing and there is a trend towards including approaches claiming to be brain-based in classroom practice. This study investigates one such program, “Whole Brain Teaching” (WBT), a relatively new brain-based method of teaching that claims to enhance students’ motivation and memory. The study was undertaken over the period of one school semester in a second languages program. It involved five primary school teachers and three secondary school teachers teaching Greek as a second language in an accredited after-hours community language program. Through systematic data collection of interviews and teacher journals, teachers reflected on WBT strategies introduced and used and how these contributed to both engagement with and recall of information, specifically set vocabulary in the second language. The study, a phenomenological, qualitative case study, explores the lived experiences of eight teachers who used WBT strategies, and who all advocated the positive impact of the WBT method without making links to learning theories or seeking evidence for research on the method.