Whole Brain Model

Ned Hermann improved his model of Brain Dominance in 1979. His Whole Brain Model (Herman, 1995) combines Roger Sperry's left/right brain theory and Paul MacLean's triune model (rational brain, intermediate brain and primitive brain) to produce a quadrant model of the brain. The quadrants are: Left Cerebral (upper left), Left Limbic (lower left), Right Limbic (lower right), Right Cerebral (upper right), as with the other brain models, each area has functions connected it to produce a model of thinking and learning. Practitioners of HBDT use the following labels each quadrant for persons whose strongest preference is in that quadrant:

Left Cerebral: Theorists, Left Limbic: Organizers, Right Limbic: Humanitarians, Right Cerebral: Innovators As Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) enthusiasts might speculate, there is a correlation between MBTI preference and HBDI preference. These two models focus on characterizing learners. There has been much further work in characterizing the Cognitive Styles of different learners, such as the work of Furnham (1995) and Ramsden (1992) on Whole/Analytic organization and processing of information, and Verbal/Imagery representation of information. However, there is some debate about whether Cognitive Style should be considered part of Learning Style: “LS are more in terms of processes than outcomes” (Duff, 2003, pp.5). Sadler-Smith (2001) also brings out in their discussion that Cognitive Style and LS are independent.

This is similar to Dunn, Dunn and Price (1979) who identified the factors that influence learners in terms of five types of stimuli: Environmental, Emotional, Sociological, Physiological, and Psychological. For each, they identified specific elements: “Environmental" includes: d...

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...ers, and this mismatch might well be contributing significantly to their poor learning behaviors. There is extensive literature to show that instructional strategies that support multiple learning styles enhance learning not only for ADHD students but all other students as well. Contrary to popular perception, using learning styles does not mean customizing instruction to each individual learner’s preferences, but instead providing opportunities to use multiple styles, including those they are less comfortable with. In addition to this, ADHD students need contextual support in the classroom, and this should be part of their intervention design. There is need for further research into devising instructional strategies that can take advantage of the large body of material on learning styles and learning processes, and understanding their value for ADHD students.