RIGHT BRAIN VS.

LEFT BRAIN

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

AN IMPORTANT FACTOR TO UNDERSTANDING LEARNING STYLES IS UNDERSTANDING BRAIN FUNCTIONING.

A 1996 STUDY SHOWED THAT LEARNING STYLES ARE ALIKE ON ALL CONTINENTS, WITH THE PROPORTION OF LEFT BRAIN TO RIGHT BRAIN LEARNERS BEING RELATIVELY SIMILAR.

BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN CAN REASON, BUT BY DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, AND ONE SIDE MAY BE DOMINANT OVER THE OTHER.

LEFT-SEQUENTIAL/ORGANIZED RIGHT-CREATIVE/EMOTIONAL

.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? (CONT.)

•A LEFT BRAIN (SUCCESSIVE PROCESSOR) PREFERS TO LEARN IN A STEP-BY-STEP SEQUENTIAL FORMAT, BEGINNING WITH DETAILS LEADING TO A CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF A SKILL.

•A RIGHT BRAIN (SIMULTANEOUS PROCESSOR) PREFERS TO LEARN BEGINNING WITH THE GENERAL CONCEPT AND THEN GOING ON TO SPECIFICS.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? (CONT.)

•A MIDDLE BRAIN PERSON SHARES THOSE OF BOTH LEFT BRAIN AND RIGHT BRAIN CHARACTERISTICS.

•MIDDLE BRAIN OFTEN VACILLATE BETWEEN THE TWO HEMISPHERES WHEN MAKING DECISIONS.

WESTERN SOCIETY HONORS LEFT BRAIN THINKERS

THEY FOLLOW DIRECTIONS

DO WELL ON TESTS

SIT STILL IN SCHOOL

SEEM ORGANIZED

TEND TO BE GOOD BUSINESS PEOPLE

ARE GENERALLY SERIOUS

EASTERN SOCIETY HONORS RIGHT BRAIN THINKERS

THEY ARE CREATIVE

THEY ARE EMPATHETIC

THEY ARE SPIRITUAL

THE EASTERN SOCIETY VALUES THIS KIND OF THINKING BECAUSE THEIR FOCUS IS NOT ON THIS WORLD, BUT THE NEXT.

HOW IS DOMINANCE FORMED?• BORN WITH IT

• ENVIRONMENTAL-EARLY EXPOSURE

• CHOICES MADE-WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU?

POSTURE AND LEARNING

HOW AND WHERE YOU SIT CAN MAKE A

DIFFERENCE!!!

WHEN YOU SIT UP STRAIGHT, YOU ENGAGE THE LEFT SIDE OF THE BRAIN.•THE BODY CONTROL NEEDED TO SIT UP

STRAIGHT COMES FROM THE LEFT SIDE

• IN ORDER TO LEARN, YOU CAN’T BE TOO COMFORTABLE. YOU NEED A LITTLE DISCOMFORT TO REMAIN ALERT FOR EXTENDED PERIODS.

•SCHOOL CHAIRS, THEN, ARE EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED TO LEARN!

COMFORT ENGAGES THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN.

• RELAX

• LEAN BACK

• LIE DOWN

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR HOMEWORK???

• IF YOU ARE STUDYING FOR A TEST, SIT UP STRAIGHT…USE A CHAIR LIKE A DINING ROOM CHAIR

• IF YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING CREATIVE, LIKE WRITE AN ESSAY, MAKE YOURSELF COMFY. SIT IN A RECLINER OR BEANBAG CHAIR.

(JUST DON’T FALL ASLEEP!! )

•KNOWING WHAT KINDS OF ACTIVITIES BELONG TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT BRAIN CAN HELP YOU SWITCH BACK AND FORTH FOR OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE.

•WHEN YOU GET A TOOL, YOU HAVE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE IT. KNOWING HOW TO USE YOUR BRAIN MAKES SENSE.

THE HEMISPHERES COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER!

• A BRAIN CAN BE HALF LEFT/HALF RIGHT, PREDOMINANTLY LEFT, OR PREDOMINANTLY RIGHT.

• LEFT BRAINS LEARN BY HEARING.

LEFT BRAINS LIKE LECTURES!

RIGHT BRAINS NEED TO DO SOMETHING.

ONCE THEY EXPERIENCE THE PROCESS THEY WILL REMEMBER IT!

RECALLAT A PARTY…

• LEFT BRAINS WILL MEET 12 PEOPLE AND REMEMBER THEIR NAMES THE NEXT DAY

• RIGHT BRAINS WILL NOT REMEMBER THEIR NAMES, BUT WILL KNOW WHAT THEY WORE, WHERE THEY WERE SITTING, HOW THEIR HAIR WAS DONE, AND MAYBE EVEN WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT.

HOW THE DIFFERENT HEMISPHERES APPROACH A

PROJECT•LEFT-ARRANGE THE STEPS IN ORDER AND

BEGIN WITH THE FIRST ON THE LIST•RIGHT-RICOCHET METHOD-NO OBVIOUSORDER NEEDED, THEY DO THE STEP THAT COMES TO MIND• BOTH CAN GET THEBOTH CAN GET THE JOB DONEJOB DONE

NEATNESS• LEFT- TIDY SPACES, KNOW WHERE THINGS ARE

• RIGHT-DON’T TOUCH MY PILES!!! I KNOW WHERE EVERYTHING IS…OTHER ROOMS MAY BE TIDY, BUT PERSONAL SPACE RARELY IS

PLANNING

•LEFT-MUCH ADVANCE PLANNING

•RIGHT-SPUR OF THE MOMENT

TESTING•LEFT-MEMORIZE WELL, CAN MEMORIZE FACTS AND

DATES

•RIGHTS-REMEMBER IMAGES AND PATTERNS, CAN SEE THE PICTURE OF A SOLDIER IN THEIR MIND, CAN REMEMBER DETAILS IN HIS UNIFORM, KNOW WHAT SEASON IT WAS, AND KNOW THERE WAS A DATE BELOW THE PICTURE…JUST HAVE A TERRIBLE TIME REMEMBERING THAT DATE!

IMPULSE CONTROL

•LEFT-MORE EASILY CONTROL BEHAVIOR, INNATE ABILITY TO WEIGH CONSEQUENCES

•RIGHT-MORE IMPULSIVE, NOT ALWAYS COGNIZANT OF POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES

PUNCTUALITY•LEFT-ON TIME OR EARLY FOR EVERYTHING…

THEY ARE THE FIRST ONES IN THE MOVIE THEATER

•RIGHT-ON TIME FOR ONLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS.

GESTURES•LEFT-NOT VERY ANIMATED

•RIGHT-LOTS OF HAND MOVEMENTS…FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND VOICE CAN BE EXPRESSIVE AND ENTERTAINING!

BEST TIME OF THE DAY TO LEARN• MORNING…

• AFTERNOON…

• EVENING…

• NO PREFERENCE…

TEMPERATURE AND LEARNING

• IF IT IS TOO WARM OR TOO COLD, THE BRAIN IS IN A CONSTANT STATE OF DISTRACTION. IT IS CONSTANTLY SEEKING A WAY TO IMPROVE THE CONDITION.

LEFT BRAIN, HERE YOU ARE!•LEFT BRAIN INDIVIDUALS PROCESS INFORMATION

IN A LINEAR MANNER.

•THEY TAKE PIECES TO THE PUZZLE, LINE THEM UP, AND ARRANGE THEM IN LOGICAL ORDER. FROM THIS DRAWING THEIR CONCLUSION TO THE PUZZLE.

•LEFT BRAIN PERSONS ARE LIST MAKERS. THEY ENJOY MAKING A MASTER SCHEDULE AND DOING DAILY PLANNING.

LEFT BRAIN, HERE YOU ARE!•PEOPLE OF LEFT BRAIN ARE USUALLY GOOD SPELLERS

BECAUSE SPELLING INVOLVES SEQUENCE.

•LEFT BRAINS ALSO WORK IN THE LINEAR AND SEQUENTIAL PROCESSING OF MATH AND FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS.

•THEY HAVE NO TROUBLE PROCESSING SYMBOLS, MEMORIZING VOCABULARY WORDS AND MATH FORMULAS.

LEFT BRAIN CHARACTERISTICS •RATIONAL

•RESPOND TO VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS

•CONTROLLED, SYSTEMATIC EXPERIMENTS

•PROBLEM SOLVES LOGICALLY AND SEQUENTIALLY LOOKING AT THE PARTS OF THINGS

•MAKES OBJECTIVE JUDGMENTS

•LOOKS AT DIFFERENCES

•IS PLANNED AND STRUCTURED

•PREFERS ESTABLISHED, CERTAIN INFORMATION.

LEFT BRAIN CHARACTERISTICS• ANALYTIC READER• PRIMARY RELIANCE ON LANGUAGE IN THINKING AND

REMEMBERING• PREFERS TALKING AND WRITING• PREFERS MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST• CONTROLS FEELINGS• PREFERS HIERARCHICAL AUTHORITY STRUCTURES• TALKS, AND TALKS, AND TALKS• SEES CAUSE AND EFFECT• DRAWS ON PREVIOUSLY ACCUMULATED, ORGANIZED

INFORMATION.

RIGHT BRAIN, HERE YOU ARE!•WHILE LEFT BRAIN PEOPLE THINK IN LOGICAL

ORDER, RIGHT BRAIN PROCESS FROM A WHOLE TO A PART, HOLISTICALLY.

•RIGHT BRAIN HAVE DIFFICULTY IN FOLLOWING A LECTURE UNLESS THEY ARE GIVEN THE BIG PICTURE FIRST.

• IT IS IMPORTANT FOR A RIGHT BRAINED PERSON TO READ A CHAPTER PRIOR TO LECTURE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING DISCUSSED.

RIGHT BRAIN, HERE YOU ARE!• THE APPROACH OF A RIGHT BRAINED PERSON IS RANDOM.

• BECAUSE OF THE RANDOM NATURE OF A RIGHT BRAIN, THEY SHOULD MAKE LIST AND SCHEDULES TO HELP THEM STAY ON TRACK.

• RIGHT BRAIN PEOPLE ARE COLOR SENSITIVE. TRY USING COLORS TO ESTABLISH SEQUENCES.

RIGHT BRAIN, HERE YOU ARE!

•RIGHT BRAIN PEOPLE ARE CONCRETE.

•THEY WANT TO SEE, FEEL, OR TOUCH THE REAL OBJECT.

•RIGHT BRAIN INDIVIDUALS MAY HAVE TROUBLE LEARNING TO READ USING PHONICS.

•THEY PREFER TO SEE WORDS IN CONTEXT AND TO SEE HOW FORMULAS WORK.

•CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HANDS ON ACTIVITIES TO USE YOUR RIGHT BRAIN.

RIGHT BRAIN, HERE YOU ARE!•WHEN PROCESSING BEING A RIGHT BRAIN, THEY USE INTUITION.

•THEY MAY KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER TO A PROBLEM, BUT ARE NOT SURE HOW THEY GOT IT.

•ON A QUIZ, THEY HAVE A GUT FEELING AS TO WHICH ANSWERS ARE CORRECT, AND THEY ARE USUALLY RIGHT.

•THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN PAYS ATTENTION TO COHERENCE AND MEANING, TELLS YOU IF IT “FEELS” RIGHT.

RIGHT BRAIN, HERE YOU ARE!

•RIGHT BRAINED PEOPLE MAY KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN BUT OFTEN HAVE TROUBLE FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS.

•RIGHT BRAIN INDIVIDUALS NEED TO BACK UP EVERYTHING VISUALLY.

•WHEN GIVING DIRECTIONS, THEY USE THEIR HANDS AND GIVE NAMES OF PLACES ALONG THE WAY VERSES HARD NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST.

RIGHT BRAIN CHARACTERISTICS

•INTUITIVE

•RESPONDS TO DEMONSTRATED INSTRUCTIONS

•OPEN-ENDED, RANDOM EXPERIMENTS

•PROBLEM SOLVES WITH HUNCHES, LOOKING FOR PATTERNS

•MAKES SUBJECTIVE JUDGMENTS

•LOOKS AT SIMILARITIES

•IS FLUID AND SPONTANEOUS

•PREFERS ELUSIVE, UNCERTAIN INFORMATION

Are You Right-Brained or Left Brained?

Your learning style is influenced by whether you are right-brained or left-brained.

Background

What does “hemisphere” mean?• Half of a sphere

Does this mean that we only use half of our brains? No! Researchers often criticize popular psychology for this, because the popular lateralizations often are distributed across both hemispheres, although mental processing is divided between them.

1. Which is more true of you?

A. I am tense about getting things right.

B. I am relaxed and let things happen.

2. Which do you enjoy more about music?

A. The beat

B. The melody

3. Which ways of learning do you like best?

A. Workshops and field trips

B. Books and lectures

4. Which of these two subjects do you like more?

A. Art

B. Math

5. When you buy something, do you make sure you have received the correct change?

A. Yes, I count.

B. No.

6. How do you figure things out?

A. The answer comes to me all at once, like a light going on.

B. A piece at a time, then I put it all together.

7. Which would you rather do?

A. Read

B. Watch TV

8. How are you at putting your feelings into words?

A. Very good

B. It is hard for me

9. If you practice an instrument or a sport, how do you do it?

A. When I feel like it and have the time.

B. The same time each day, for a certain amount of time.

10. You are riding your bike to a friend’s house. You have never been there before. Which method do you use to find your way?

A. I ask for directions, then I look at a map.

B. I ask for directions, then write down street names and landmarks.

11. Which of these types of fabrics do you prefer?

A. Fabrics without much texture (cotton and denim)

B. Fabrics with lots of texture (corduroy, suede, velvet)

12. Are you good at remembering faces?

A. Yes

B. No

13. Are you good at remembering names?

A. Yes

B. No

14. How do you feel about psychic claims: that there is such a thing as ESP (extrasensory perception), for example?

A. Science cannot explain everything: they are worth looking into.

B. They are foolish and non-scientific.

It is time to score your results…

Record a “L” for left or a “R” for right beside your respective selection.

1. Which is more true of you?

A. I am tense about getting things right. (LEFT)

B. I am relaxed and let things happen. (RIGHT)

2. Which do you enjoy more about music?

A. The beat (LEFT)

B. The melody (RIGHT)

3. Which ways of learning do you like best?

A. Workshops and field trips (RIGHT)

B. Books and lectures (LEFT)

4. Which of these two subjects so you like more?

A. Art (RIGHT)

B. Math (LEFT)

5. When you buy something, do you make sure you have received the correct change?

A. Yes, I count. (LEFT)

B. No. (RIGHT)

6. How do you figure things out?

A. The answer comes to me all at once, like a light going on. (RIGHT)

B. A piece at a time, then I put it all together. (LEFT)

7. Which would you rather do?

A. Read (LEFT)

B. Watch TV (RIGHT)

8. How are you at putting your feelings into words?

A. Very good (LEFT)

B. It is hard for me (RIGHT)

9. If you practice an instrument or a sport, how do you do it?

A. When I feel like it and have the time. (RIGHT)

B. The same time each day, for a certain amount of time. (LEFT)

10. You are riding your bike to a friend’s house. You have never been there before. Which method do you use to find your way?

A. I ask for directions, then I look at a map. (RIGHT)

B. I ask for directions, then write down street names and landmarks. (LEFT)

11. Which of these types of fabrics do you prefer?

A. Fabrics without much texture (cotton and denim) (LEFT)

B. Fabrics with lots of texture (corduroy, suede, velvet) (RIGHT)

12. Are you good at remembering faces?

A. Yes (RIGHT)

B. No (LEFT)

13. Are you good at remembering names?

A. Yes (LEFT)

B. No (RIGHT)

14. How do you feel about psychic claims: that there is such a thing as ESP (extrasensory perception), for example?

A. Science cannot explain everything: they are worth looking into. (RIGHT)

B. They are foolish and non-scientific. (LEFT)

So…Are you Left-Brained or Right-Brained?

Total up your worksheet to determine your dominant side.

So, what does this mean?

People who are Right Brain DominantAre often good at...• Seeing the big picture• Cooperating in groups• Giving and receiving praise• Reading Body language• Going with the flow• Doing several things at once• Focusing on ideas/themes• Reading between the lines

Right-Brain Dominant

They almost always...• Visualize the future• Think fast on their feet• Have good rapport with others• See many solutions• Accept many kinds of people• Try to avoid conflict

Right-Brain Dominant

They may be frustrated by…• Having to explain things step by step• Accepting criticism without taking it personally• Not knowing the meaning of or purpose in doingsomething• Keeping detailed records• Having to choose one answer• Re-doing anything once it is done

Right-Brain Dominant

Questions they may ask...• What does this have to do with me?• How can I make a difference?• How much of this is really necessary?They are often more…• Visual, intuitive, holistic, abstract, special and orientedtoward main ideas.They may prefer to organize material and study with…• Charts, maps, time lines, graphs using colors anddifferent formatting.

Left-Brain Dominant

People who are Left Brain Dominant• Are often good at...• Looking at details• Focusing on one thing• Giving direct answers• Organization• Individual competition• Establishing routines• Working through ideas• Following schedules

Left-Brain Dominant

They almost always...• Do things the same way• Like a neat environment• Are self-motivated• Value facts over feelings• Ask "how do I do it?"

Left-Brain Dominant

They may be frustrated by…• Not knowing the purpose• Not understanding how a teacher grades• Dealing with generalities• Having an opinion expressed as fact• Having to find personal meaning in what you learn• Working in groups• Questions with no right answer

Left-Brain Dominant

Questions they may ask...• What facts do I need to know?• What should it look like?• When is it due?They are often more…• Verbal, logical, linear, concrete, time and detail oriented.They may prefer to organize material and study with…• Outlines, The Cornell Format for notes and linear formsof detailed notes.

What if I scored both sides equally?• Balanced Brain (no clear dominance)• A balanced score means you are able to draw on the strengths of

both the right and left hemispheres of your brain,depending upon a given situation.

• This combination makes you a creative and flexible thinker.• The down side to having a more “balanced brain” is that you may

sometimes feel paralyzed by indecision when the two hemispheres of your brain are competing to solve a problem in their own unique ways.

• You may also find career choices difficult due to your proficiency in several different areas.

• As mentioned above, you will benefit from using both right and left brain tools.