In the past quarter of a century considerable attention has been given to what is called brain hemisphericity. According to neurosurgeon Joseph Bogan (1975) brain hemisphericity is the reliance on one mode of processing than another by an individual. Roger Sperry (1975), a Nobel laureate in physiology for his work on hemisphericity, explained the nature of hemisphericity this way:
"Each hemisphere...has its own...private sensations, perceptions, thought, and ideas all of which are cut off from the corresponding experience in the opposite hemisphere. Each left and right hemisphere has its own private chain of memories and learning experiences that are accessible to recall by the other hemisphere. In many respects each disconnected hemisphere appears to have a separate "mind of its own."
These early brain researchers found that (1) The two halves of the brain, right and left hemispheres, process information differently; (2) In the split-brain patient, there seem to be two different people up there, each with his/her favorite ways of processing information, each with a different mode of thinking; and (3). Both hemispheres are equally important.
Left versus Right Brain Thinking. These neurosurgeons findings had direct and obvious implications for teaching, but especially for the growing field of student learning styles. Bernice McCarthy, who has applied the results of brain research to the 4 MAT model of learning sees the two hemispheres processing information and experiencing differently. Here are some differences that she feels make a difference in helping to accommodate students with different learning styles.
The
left hemisphere: Does verbal
things. Likes
sequence. Sees the
trees. Likes
structure. Analyses Is
Rational Is
theoretical The
right hemisphere: Sees
relationships Grabs for the
whole. Does visual-spatial
things Likes random
patterns Sees the
forest Is fluid and
spontaneous Is
Intuitive
One of the arguments that brain researchers make is that school learning emphasizes and favors "left" brain learning over "right" brain learning. If listening to lectures and relying on the science text book are left brain activities, then there is evidence to support this argument. For example, teachers who want to increase the number of right brain activities in their lesson plans, thereby giving right brain learners more of an opportunity for success would include such approaches as: mind-mapping, visualization experiences, imagery, analogies, use of paradox, role-playing, creative writing (yes, in science), demonstrations, experiments, intuitive activities, connecting ideas, and creative problem solving.
Left/Right Brain: Implications from Research. There is a tendency, as with any theory, to draw simplified interpretations, and so it is with brain functioning and student learning style. One of the major oversimplifications is that rationality is exclusively a left brain function, and creativity a right brain function. Evidence supports the idea that both hemispheres play a part in rationality and creativity. There are, however, some results that have powerful implications for you as a teacher. Here are a few.
Ann Howe and Poul Thompsen report that hemisphericity can play an important role in motivation and science teaching. According to work being done in artificial intelligence, when a person is exposed to some new phenomenon, the first thing that occurs is that in the deep part of your brain you give a preliminary value to it: 'is it interesting or not?' If it isn't, the person doesn't give it any more attention. It it is interesting then after 10 seconds or so it enters the right hemisphere, which attempts to make holistic sense of the phenomenon: 'what's this all about?' If this succeeds, then the information is processed to the left hemisphere where the brain tries to deal with analytically. This notion supports the contention that we must pay close attention to the types of tasks that we present to students. Interest is an important aspect of science teaching, and the gatekeeper seems to be the deep recesses of the brain.
Another finding that has implications for teaching has to do with the role of emotion or feelings. The right hemisphere seems to play a special role in emotion. If students are emotionally involved in an activity, then both sides of the brain will participate in the activity, regardless of the subject matter or content.
The two hemispheres are involved are involved in thinking, logic, and reasoning, and in the creation and appreciation of art and music. This disputes earlier implications that the left brain was the logical side, and the right brain the artistic side.