Sixth-grade teacher Chuck Balogh
One aspect of BrainSMART that impressed sixth-grade teacher Chuck Balogh was its emphasis on the power of positive thinking to increase academic success. He not only put those techniques to work in his classroom, he designed an action research project around optimism and self-reflection.
Balogh did his research with 300 students in the Peoria, Arizona, public school district over almost two full school years. The students in his science and social studies classes came from different economic situations and different backgrounds. Two central goals of his research were to increase the positive thinking abilities of learners through self-reflection and to increase test scores by using meditation before tests.
Balogh modeled positive thinking and taught his students optimism through meditation. He also encouraged them to write daily in "Happy Books," a technique he adapted based on BrainSMART research that involves writing about emotions, events, and people in students’ lives that make them feel happy and optimistic.
As a result of emphasizing positive thinking and meditation to relax and reduce stress about tests, students enjoyed a measurable increase in academic success: Three-fourths or more of sixth graders scored 75 percent or better on the majority of tests taken during the research project.
Balogh credits BrainSMART in helping him to develop an effective teaching approach. The program is "cutting edge, brain-based and proven, and the academic staff is extremely open, helpful and always willing to offer support," he says.
"My research has taken me a lot farther than I ever thought it would," he adds. "It’s turned into a passion for me."
Balogh earned his Master’s of Science in Education with a Specialization in BrainSMART. His action research paper "Optimism: Can It Increase Academic Success?" is available online through the Social Science Research Network (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1097682).
