Research

 
 
       All of Whole Brain Teaching’s instructional techniques (see the “First Steps” menu) are validated by contemporary brain research. 
       Class-Yes: Our primary attention-getter activates the prefrontal cortex, often called the CEO of the brain. The prefrontal cortex controls, among other functions, decision making, planning and focus of attention. Little if any learning can take place if the prefrontal cortex is not engaged. We think of the Class-Yes as a brain switch that readies students for instruction. 
       The Scoreboard: The limbic system, deep inside the brain, is the source of our emotions. When an instructor marks a Smiley or a Frowny on the Scoreboard, students feel a small, positive or negative, emotional jolt. By enlivening the marking routine with a “mighty oh yeah” or a “mighty groan” the reward circuitry in the limbic system is activated. 
       Teach-Okay: Brain and learning research indicates that students learn the most when they are engaged in teaching each other. By emphasizing energetic, instructional gesturing, we engage, during teach-okay sessions, five of students' most powerful brain areas: visual cortex (seeing gestures), motor cortex (making gestures), Broca’s area (verbalizing a lesson), Wernicke’s area (hearing a lesson), and the limbic system, (giving emotional content to a lesson.) 
       Hands and Eyes: When we are making an important point, we want students to focus intensely on what we are saying. In the hands of a practiced WBT instructor, Hands and Eyes creates instant silence, eliminating all learning distractions; the prefrontal cortex takes control of brain activity focusing the visual cortex and the auditory cortex on the lesson at hand. 
       Switch: Some students talk easily, often too easily! Other students fall into the role of passive listeners. In terms of brain structure, classes are often divided between those who are Brocaians (speakers) and Wernikites (listeners). By using Switch, an instructor can easily teach listening skills to the speakers and speaking skills to the listeners. 
       Mirror: Many brain scientists believe that we learn by mirroring the gestures and activities of others. They have identified mirror neurons scattered throughout the brain that are activated by mimicking the behavior we observe. Our own experience in WBT classroom indicates that when a class mirrors our gestures and, when appropriate, repeats our words, a powerful learning bond is created between students and teachers. 
       All of WBT’s instructional strategies have been rigorously classroom tested, many for over 10 years. Based on feedback that we receive at conferences, on our website and via emails from hundreds of teachers across the country, we are constantly refining our techniques.  
       Our initial, and primary, research goal was to create a system that instructors would willingly adopt. We believe there is a direct correlation between the effectiveness of a classroom management system and an instructor's enthusiastic implementation of the system. Over the last five years, we have asked instructors at the end of our seminars to answer one question: 
 
       Compared to other teaching systems that you are familiar with, Whole Brain Teaching is: 
       a. much better 
       b. better 
       c. about the same 
       d. worse 
       e. much worse 
 
       In one of the largest surveys of its kind, we have polled over 2,000 K-12 educators in California, Arizona, Texas, Montana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama. The results have been astounding. Seventy percent of instructors rated our system “much better” and 28% rated it “better.” The results are close to unanimous; 98% of educators believe WBT is superior to every other teaching system.  We believe no other instructional strategy can match these numbers.
       Our research continues. In poverty level schools in San Jacinto, California in a district that is 98% free and reduced lunch and 80% Hispanic, students' reading scores in WBT classrooms showed a 12% increase, in three months, over students in non-WBT settings.  At San Jacinto Elementary, a team of fourth grade teachers achieved significant results using Whole Brain Teaching  with over 120 students.  As compared with the previous year, math scores on state tests advanced a remarkable 28%.

     Individual WBT instructors across the country report their state test scores exceed those of traditional teachers by 20-30%. Three schools in Hemet, California who have adopted WBT have seen decreases in office referrals and suspensions by as much as 50% in a two year period.

     In an intriguing new study from Detroit, Michigan, "Integrating Whole Brain Teaching Strategies to Create a More Engaged Learning Environment," Jesame Torres Palasigue evaluated 9 types of student negative behaviors.  The behaviors included head on hand or desk, complaining, staring into space, engaging in off task activities, being out of the proper seat.  Palasigue measured the frequency of these behaviors with fifth graders before and after the students were introduced to Whole Brain Teaching.  Palasigue reports, "Overall, there was a 50% decrease in student negative behaviors from the pre-observation to the post-observation.  The frequency of the nine listed behaviors during the pre-observation markedly decreased in the post-observation."  Palasigue's study is published online in Education Resources Information Center, the world's largest digital library of education literature.

     Linda Mikels, a strong supporter of WBT and principal of 6th Street Prep in Victorville, one of the top ranked elementary schools in California, reports a remarkable increase in API ratings.  Scores soared from  632 in 2002 to 938 in 2009.  Mikels attributes a substantial portion of her school's success to her staff's implementation of Whole Brain Teaching. 

       Despite these successes, we are most proud of the remarkable teacher support we have received since 1999. As of February 2010, over 18,000 teachers have registered on our web site, WholeBrainTeaching.com and have downloaded over 10 million pages of our free ebooks. Our videos on YouTube and TeacherTube average 1,000+ views per day and total over 1,000,000 views.