Left and Right Brain Dominance and the Impact on Learning The idea of left-brain and right-brain dominance derived from a study performed by a neuropsychologist by the name of Roger Sperry (1954). Based on this study it was gathered that each person learns and thinks by using mainly one hemisphere of their brain. Some people are right-brain dominant and some are left-brain dominant. There are also some that think with part of each side. These people are referred to as middle-brained or whole-brained thinkers. Research has shown that right-brain learners are more intuitive and spontaneous people. The right side of the brain is visual. “Visual-spatial skills of location and direction (maps), reorganizing colors and shapes and imagining and arranging them into art (sculpture, painting, architecture, music, rhythm, and dance) are functions of the right brain.” (O’Conner, 1997, p. 8) The right-brained tend to look at the big picture and overall outcome with little regard to the details. A left-brained is driven by logic and prefers following steps or a specific system to accomplish a task. When given new information, those governed by the left hemisphere of the brain dissect that information and gather all the pertinent details and facts. “It works step-by-step; sees things in parts; puts things in order; remembers people’s names; comes up with logical answers to problems.” (O’Conner, 1997, p. 9) Middle-brained learners draw from each hemisphere so it is apparent that they would have more of an advantage. Many studies have been conducted that validate the differences between each hemisphere. Another study was conducted on the effect of right and left brain dominance when learning English as a second language. The subjects used were al... ... middle of paper ... ...lly right-brained students, and lose the important information being discussed. Teachers can take this knowledge and use it to develop lesson plans to accommodate both types of students. Understanding left-brain and right-brain dominance will prepare them to take on different teaching techniques and use these new techniques for the benefit of their students. (Oflaz, 2011) By accepting all of the unique attributes of each side of the brain and its learning styles and incorporating teaching methods that encompass both, all students will have a fair chance at learning and a better understanding overall. (O’Conner, 1997) “Quality professionals who choose to deny the validity of other thinking styles will close themselves off from their colleagues and limit their own professional growth by avoiding different concepts to address different situations.” (Dew, 1996, p.15)
The author explains that in many businesses, abilities associated with the left side of the brain used to matter the most. These include lin...
The more a participant preferred their left hand, “the better they were at tests of divergent thoughts” (3). The study also found that “Left-handers were more adept… at combining two common objects” and finding a way “to form a third” (3). The article gives the example that they were better at creating a birdhouse by combining a tin can and a pole. The left-handed group also “excelled at grouping lists of words into as many alternative categories as possible” (3). According to the article, the study found “an increased cognitive flexibility among the ambidextrous and the left-handed,” which tends to lead to a rise in creative thinking (3). This flexibility explains why lefties are over-represented in more creative thinking jobs like music, architecture, and the arts, including famous artists Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. To help Konnikova prove her claim, she makes an underlying assumption that having these skills are beneficial and adds a unique ability to the left-handed
The textbook mentioned how it is possible to live with one side of the brain (Lilienfeld et al., 2016). However, I was still a bit confused on this concept because I have always thought that you need both hemispheres working together to function properly. As I watched the TedTalk, I was further able to change my understanding of the concept that you can live with one hemisphere, you would just lose some functions associated with that hemisphere, as Jill explained (Taylor, 2008). Not only that, but from the textbook I never understood how you would feel without one of your hemispheres not functioning properly, I personally thought that you would lose some abilities and it would be difficult to survive. However, the TedTalk changed this understanding of mine because, like Jill, although she lost some functions, she lost all her stresses, and she felt peace, as she states, “So here I am in this space, and my job, and any stress related to my job - it was gone. And I felt lighter in my body. And imagine all of the relationships in the external world and any stressors related to any of those - they were gone. And I felt this sense of peacefulness” (Taylor, 2008). It gave her a whole new world and it never occurred to me that this could happen, so it really expanded on the knowledge obtained from the
The Victorian Era recognized the left side of the brain as the logical, reasoning, speech giving side. The left hemisphere was often “associated with masculinity, whiteness, and civilization” (Stiles 884). Dr. Jekyll displays all left-hemisphere qualities: masculinity, whiteness, logic, intelligence, and humanness (Stiles 885). Conversely, the right side of the brain controlled the emotions deeming it feminine and “only for women” (Stiles 884-85). This side of the brain had few exceptions to femininity (showing great gender bias, odd during
Nowadays, it is widely known that the right and left hemisphere have different functions. The two hemispheres are equally important in a daily life basis. Nevertheless, in the 1960’s this was not common knowledge. Even though today the importance of the brain hemispheres is common knowledge, people don’t usually know to whom attribute this findings. One of the people who contributed to form a more defined picture about the brain hemispheres and their respective functions was Roger Wolcott Sperry, with the split brain research. Roger Sperry did more contributions than the split brain research, but this is his most important and revolutionary research in the psychological field. Thanks to the split brain research, Sperry proved that the two hemispheres of the brain are important, they work together and whatever side of the brain is more capable of doing the task is the hemisphere that takes the lead.
Most education centers focus on speaking, listening, writing, and logic making right brain learners struggle more excessively in the classroom. Right brain learners excel more in a classroom when the lesson involves images, colors, emotions, and/or the lesson is being taught through a story. Putting a child in curriculum that is friendly to the brain will and does make all the difference. However, most children can learn to accept and learn will in left brain curriculum with little to no struggle. Except, it is believed that children who learn slower or have a learning disability are more likely to be right brain learners. Knowing this, teachers can tweak teaching strategies to get all children learning to their best abilities (Right Brain vs. Left Brain). There are definitely compelling ideas relating to right-brain versus left-brain study however we have unveiled reason to be suspicious
hemispheres of the brain in which he stated that " . . . left - hemisphere style
Understanding more than one language has positive effects on the brain’s ability to think. In comparison to multilingual individuals, monolingual English speakers are at a considerable disadvantage when it comes to learning, cultural awareness, and effectiveness in global affairs.
Roger Sperry is one of the big Neurobiologists in the 1950’s. Sperry studied the relationship of the right and left hemispheres of the brain. In one of his experiments he flashed the word “Fork” in front of the patient. If the patient was asked to say the word he could not but if asked to right the word he would start to right the word “Fork”. This happed when the two brain hemispheres were disconnected from each other. At an another experiment he placed a toothbrush in the patients left hand and blind folded the patient and was asked to identify it they could not do it. But if placed in the right hand the patient would know right away what it was. That is just one of the types of study he did in his time.
there has been a lot of talk of left brain and right brain people. Levy's
Hypothesis: Bilingual brains are better at temporarily storing and manipulating information in working memory in their first language, but varying in the second.
“Right-brained” or “left-brained” is a concept that has been manipulated by the media, it’s not supported by solid science. The myth of a “right-brain” person is generally creative, intuitive, artsy, while a left-brain person is more of a problem-solver, more direct, logical. Somehow the real meaning was lost in translation, so I’ll explain. The brain is divided into two sides, called hemispheres. The left hemisphere is often described as verbal and the right as
Recently, researches findings point out that the brain is a parallel processor which can perform many types of activities at the same time. Therefore, engaging language and brain will help in developing the process of acquiring and learning a second language.
...re of the brain is just half of the brain so why is it the only half being explored in school? This failure to confront the other hemisphere causes weakening in the right hemisphere since the right hemisphere isn?t being exercised.
A student who thinks with their right brain is holistic, or thinks in wholes rather then analysis or separation of parts (Oxford, 2001). Right brain thinkers prefer a whole picture of an idea and not interested in the details. They also process information simultaneously. There are also reflective and impulsive thinkers. Reflective thinkers like to have time to consider and debate everything before making a decision. Whereas, impulsive thinkers make quick decisions with very little thought and based on very little information (Encarta, 2002).