Brain-based Learning Through zondle and Peer Instruction Jeff Mehring Ohkagakuen University jeff@jeffmehring.com Abstract Interactive learning environments and games usually provide a rapid schedule of uncertain rewards and this may explain their unusual ability to engage their players. However, stimulation of the brain's reward system also supports learning (Adcock, 2006) with recent research showing it predicts memory performance (Howard-Jones, 2011). zondle is a game that incorporates this brain-based research technology and used in combination with peer instruction, a learning method where conceptual questions are mixed into lectures, the researcher shows how this method of instruction can improve learners’ outcomes and increase interaction in an English as a foreign language (EFL) content- based course for Japanese university students. In this action-based study, the researcher used student interviews to determine the effectiveness that peer instruction and zondle had on EFL student’s increased interaction in the target language during a context-based course. INTRODUCTION The human brain is an amazing organism. Weighing roughly 3 pounds and made up of 78% water, 10% fat, and 8% protein (Jensen, 2005), it has neuroplasticity, making it malleable and changeable. It is possible to make new connections in the brain with the proper input and feedback (Doidge, 2007). The ability to change, link ideas, and build upon those ideas is the source of innovation and the expansion of learning experiences. When teachers use brain-based research to guide classroom teaching, they can provide their students with the potential to expand the learning experience infinitely. Using brain-based research in the classroom is not a quick fix but a theory, based on empirical evidence, which when incorporated as a philosophy of teaching can become the foundation of all methods and techniques used in the classroom. zondle is one game that was developed upon brain-based research that examined the role predictions plays on increased dopamine levels. Many games include an aspect of collaboration, similar to peer instruction. Combining these two ideas, peer instruction and zondle, could lead to greater interaction among EFL students, increasing time spent in the target language and learning outcomes. In this action-based research study, the instructor used student interviews to determine how peer instruction and zondle, when used in combination in a content-based English as a foreign language (EFL) class, could increase student interaction in the target language and improve student’s learning outcomes. Peer Instruction Peer instruction is a mutually beneficial process where students share learning and ideas by explaining to others as well as taking part in activities where they learn from their peers (Boud, 2001). The goals of peer instruction are to utilize student discussions during a lecture in order to direct students’ attention on the fundamental ideas or concepts being presented (Mazur, 1997). Concept tests, (Mazur, 1997), are questions posed by the instructor on the topic of the lecture. A question is posed and individually students are given time to analyze what they read before class and from previous classes to determine what they believe is the correct answer. Next, in dyads or small groups students discuss their answer with their peers and try to convince their peers that their answer is correct. In effect, students are teaching each other by synthesizing the concepts and background knowledge they already possess, combining it with new learning from peers to understand the correct answer. Afterwards, each student record his/her answer through a show of hands, or through their smart devices, with the teacher tallying the responses. Finally, the teacher concludes the discussion by exposing the correct answer and, if necessary, an explanation of the correct response. In this format, new information can be connected to the students’ background knowledge through discussions with peers, enabling the brain to be able to make lasting connections which are necessary for learning to take place (Mazur, 2009). Support for this idea is found in the research on peer instruction, (Fagen, Crouch, & Mazur, 2002; Lasry, Mazur, & Watkins, 2008; Mazur, 2009), and interactive engagement pedagogies that can affect the learning process (Blumberg, 2009; Boud, Cohen & Sampson, 2001; Conole, 2013). Through peer instruction, students learn to organize, synthesize, and explain ideas collaboratively; giving and receiving valuable feedback as they evaluate their own learning. The teacher is also freed from standing at the front of the classroom and can engage with the students, enabling him/her to better understand the student’s thought