Right Brain/Left Brain

1. Right Brain/Left Brain Jane W. Wall February 24, 2005

2. Demographics • Total enrollment: 954 • Male: 530 • Female:424 • Minority enrollment: 76 (8%)

3. Left-brained strategies are the ones used most often in the classroom. Right-brained students sometimes feel inadequate. • Experiments show that most children are highly creative (right brain) before entering school. • Because our educational system places a higher value on left brain skills (mathematics, logic, and language), only ten percent of these same children will rank highly creative at age 7. • By the time we are adults, high creativity remains in only 2 percent of the population.

4. Left Side : ~Sequential ~Analytical ~Spoken Language ~Mathematical ~Reasoning ~Routine Operations It Recognizes: Letters Numbers Words Right Side: ~Holistic ~Abstract ~Interprets Language through Nonverbal ~Patterns ~Spatial Awareness It Recognizes: Faces Places Objects ~David Sousa

6. Left-Brained Students… Process from part to whole. (Their brain takes pieces, lines them up, and arranges them in a logical order; then it draws conclusions.) Easily process symbols such as letters, words, and mathematical notations. Can easily memorize vocabulary words or math formulas. Have little trouble expressing themselves in words. Want to know the rules and follow them. Will make up rules to follow if none are given. Right-Brained Students… Process from whole to parts. See the big picture first, not the details. Do not enjoy making lists or schedules but need to practice. Have more difficulty spelling. Need information to be concrete. Want to see, feel, or touch the real object. May have trouble finding the right words. Are creative

7. Left-Brained Students… Are list makers. Enjoy planning. Complete tasks in order and take pleasure in checking them off when they are accomplished. Easily learn things in sequence. Are often good spellers. Enjoy the linear and sequential process of math. Are good at following directions. Right-Brained Students… May have difficulty following a lesson unless they are given the big picture first. Need to read an assigned chapter or have background information before a lesson begins. Need an overview before they begin a lesson. (Essential ?) May have trouble outlining (They often write papers first and outline them later if an outline is required). Need to know why you are doing something.

8. Writing In writing, the left side of the brain pays attention to mechanics such as spelling, agreement, and punctuation. But the right side pays attention to coherence and meaning.

9. What Can We Do? • In order to be more "whole-brained" in their orientation, teachers need to give equal weight to the arts, creativity, and the skills of imagination and synthesis. • To foster a more “whole-brained” scholastic experience, teachers should use instruction techniques that connect with both sides of the brain. • Teachers can increase their classroom's right-brain learning activities by incorporating more patterning, metaphors, analogies, role playing, visuals, and movement into their reading, calculation, and analytical activities.

10. Left-Brain Offer outlines. Discuss vocabulary words. Let students make vocabulary crossword puzzles. Allow students to research topics on their own. Discuss abstract ideas. Right-Brain Draw out or illustrate a math problem. Make mental videos of stories heard or read. Color code information or write main points on the board. “Become” your lesson! Allow students to act out events in history. “Walk” through steps of a sequence (Become the food moving through the digestive system.) Encourage students to make posters, mobiles, dioramas, or papiér-mâché projects. Move often from one task to another offering frequent breaks Activities

11. The End