Brain-based learning practices of teacher educators in an english language teaching programme

Abstract

Every era comes with its unique requirements and expectations in every domain of life, and education is no exception. However, there are some ‘timeless’ educational moves which can be always fashionable in such as brain-based learning where involvement of both hemispheres is encouraged in line with learners’ needs and interests. If educators are to deliver instruction in line with the needs of brain, they should take the necessary education before stepping into their real classes, which puts the emphasis on pre-service teacher education. Thus, this study aims to find out the perceptions and practices of faculty members in English Language Teaching (ELT) Programme at a state university in Turkey about brain-based learning. This study is based on mixed-methods approach including both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interview) data collection and analysis procedures. The participants were first administered the Brain-Based Learning Survey Questionnaire developed by Shelly R. Klinek (2009) in English and then they were asked to complete written interview forms to get deeper understanding about their teaching practices. SPSS 16 and Excel programmes were utilized for numerical data analysis while content analysis was applied to interpret and categorize written comments of the participants. The findings provide crucial insights about how to implement brain-based learning methods for the benefits of student teachers in ELT programmes and thus create a learning culture among student teachers who then might implement such procedures in their future classes.