RIGHT AND LEFT MODE ACTIVITIES

By: Jenny Broschardt

DID YOU KNOW?

Right/left Brain:

Two different sides of the brain control two different modes of thinking.

The left side processes verbal information, controls speech and logical thinking, It also controls final decisions concerning information gathered throughout the brain. Your right side controls pattern recognition.

Whole Brain:

To be considered "Whole Brained" a person uses many left and right strategies for learning.

LEFT-BRAIN LEARNER

Teaching Strategy: Novelty-The brain enjoys new or contrasting experiences.

YouTube video: Months of the year song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5enDRrWyXaw

When to use this strategy: As a teacher, you have to engage children emotionally, behaviorally, and cognitively by creating a classroom where the emotional climate is warm, welcoming, and safe. By using this strategy, you engage students, which also engages their brains. Therefore, the brain becomes active once the student is on board and ready to learn.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LEFT-BRAIN LEARNER

Logical: When you read and listen, you look for the pieces so that you can draw logical conclusions. Your decisions are made on logic, which provides proof.

Sequential: Enjoy making schedules and doing daily planning. You complete tasks in order and check them off when they are accomplished.

Linear: The left side of the brain processes information by piecing together information and arranging them in a logical order and then draws conclusions.

Analytical: By thinking and reasoning, you come to conclusions based on many considerations that have been carefully thought out.

Reality based: If there are no rules, you'll be the first to create them! Left brained learners understand consequences to actions and are the people who follow the directions.

Objective: Understands without letting emotions, personal feelings, or other's interpretations interrupt the facts in your mind.

Verbal: Left-brained learners have little trouble expressing themselves in words. You are comfortable speaking, and use very little hand gestures as you talk.

Symbolic: The left brain has no trouble processing symbols and are able to memorize vocabulary words or math formulas.

RIGHT-BRAIN LEARNER

Teaching Strategy: Images-Between 80-90% of all information absorbed by the brain is visual...

When to use this strategy: Illustrations or photographs enable teachers to create a meaningful context for students. Associating new information with images helps students learn better. Therefore, students who analyze and reflect on their learning are more effective learners and are able to retain and apply new information and skills.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RIGHT-BRAIN LEARNER

Intuitive: You may know the answer to the math problem, but are not be sure how you got it. You rely more on your gut feeling and are usually right.

Random: Your mind may move rapidly from one thought to another. It's not that you don't want to finish that assignment, but you remembered something else you had to do, and forgot about what you were working on. (definitely me)

Global: You need to see the whole picture first, then learn about all the parts that create the whole. You also need to know the reason for learning this material.

Fantasy Based: You are creative and imaginative and enjoy singing, music, art, writing, and designing.

Subjective: Your views, opinions and even facts are viewed through personal experiences and background.

Non-Verbal: Right brained learners may know exactly what they mean, but have trouble finding the words to express it.

Visual: Maps, drawings, time lines, graphs and symbols are visual images that may stick and be remembered better than text or rote memorization. These are the people who throw away the directions and do it themselves!

Concrete: Likes to see, feel, or touch the real object and recall people’s faces, rather than their names.

LEARNING THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR

Grade/Age Level: Kindergarten Age: 5/6

While learning the months of the year, your right brain tries to say the month shown, but your left brain insists on looking at the pictures and comparing the picture to the word.

When you see the slide say the month that you see out loud…

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

BRAIN RESEARCH THEORIES

Brain-based learning theories are based on current research about the structure and function of the brain. 

Brain-based teaching is all about understanding the principles of brain research.

What we know about how the brain works has a significant impact on curriculum, instruction, and assessment. 

IMPLICATIONS

Education has focused more on right brain activity because it is the reasoning or rational part of the brain. By using an approach that integrates different activities will lead to more effective teaching. Schools need to provide curriculums that give equal weight to the brain as a whole and teachers should also use techniques that connect with both sides of the brain.

All students have diverse learning styles that require different approaches.

How can we adapt our own teaching strategies to engage as many of them as possible?

Each individual has a left, a right, or a middle-brain preference. By understanding how our own style influences the way we teach, we can better help our students to explore their own individual preferences.

LEARNING STYLES

By identifying which learning styles you, your child, or your student prefers enables you as a parent or teacher to better meet the learning needs of the children.

Visual learners- Remember what they see.

Auditory Learners-Need to work where it's quiet, very easily distracted by noise. Learn by listening and remember things they hear.

Kinesthetic Learners-Need to be active or involved, remember things they do or perform, and prefer to do rather than watch or listen.

Tactile Learners-Like hands on activities, and like to touch and feel things.

REFERENCES

Ashbaker, B., & Morgan, J. (2006). Paraprofessionals in the classroom. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

SPD Support. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://spdsupport.org/articles/19-learning-styles-both-hemispheres.shtml

Teachers Urged to Mix it Up and Use Novelty to Engage Students. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2013/11/teachers_urged_to_mix_it_up_and_use_novelty_in_class_to_engage_students.html

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