The Effect of Brain-Based Learning on Students' Self-Efficacy to Learn and Perform Mathematics: Implication of Neuroscience into School Psychology

Abstract

Neurosciences is emerging as an interdisciplinary field that is making progress toward having a meaningful impact on school psychology. The present study was designed to integrate neuroscience with the brain's capacity to affect students' self-efficacy by deploying neuroscience-based instructional practices for mathematics. This experimental study aimed to examine how Brain-Based Learning (BBL) influences elementary school students' self-efficacy to learn and perform in mathematics. The A-B-A research design was used for the current single-subject investigation. Thirty-nine eighth-graders from a public secondary school participated in the study. Mathematics Motivation Scale (MMS) was used to collect data from respondents throughout the study stages. One-way repeated-measures ANOVA and visual analysis were deployed for the analysis of data. The results reveal that in the baseline phase (A), students' self-efficacy mean scores (M1 = 3.63, M2 = 3.58, M3 = 3.64) were lower than in the treatment phase (B) mean scores (M4 = 4.64, M5 = 4.75, M6 = 4.70). Mean scores (M7 = 4.12, M8 = 4.06, M9 = 4.00) decreased from treatment phase (B) to withdrawal phase A. The results indicate that significance rise of self-efficacy in the treatment phase (B) was due to the intervention applied to students. The use of BBL-based activities like visual imaging, role playing, and brainstorming were suggested to enhance students’ self-efficacy in mathematics classes.