Left Brain vs Right Brain Learing Theory
Left Brain Vs. Right Brain Learning Theory
Left Brain vs. Right Brain Learning Theory
The left brain versus right brain learning theory states that each side of the brain controls different types of thinking. These different types of thinking are said to be dominant in different types of people. It is postulated that people are either left or right brain thinkers, and it is complicated for a person to try to think any differently than they already know how. The idea was raised in the 1860’s when Pierre Paul Broca, a French physician, came upon brain function lateralization. A patient of his had a speech deficit and could not process words correctly. When the patient passed and Broca did an autopsy he found that he had a lesion in the left hemisphere. Broca was the first person to discover that the left side of the brain controlled language (Murr and Williams, 1988). In the 1960’s Michael Gazzaniga and Roger Sperry were studying the effects of epilepsy. They discovered that by cutting the corpus collosum (the part that connects the two hemispheres) they could treat the seizures by reducing or eliminating them (Cherry, 2012). However, the patients began to show side effects of the procedure. Many were unable to name objects processed by the right brain but were able to name ones that were processed by the left. After studying the patients Sperry initiated the study of the two hemispheres and how they process and store information in different ways.
Left brain thinkers are good with logic, language, numbers and analytical thinking. Left brain thinkers tend to be more book oriented and like to read, take notes, and work on projects individually. They learn by writing things down, reading books, and reading instructions. A left brain learner will excel in subjects such as math, science and history. In the working world managers tend to be left brain dominant. They focus on organizing, and structuring situations (Dew, 1996). A left brain
Left Brain vs. Right Brain Learning Theory
The left brain versus right brain learning theory states that each side of the brain controls different types of thinking. These different types of thinking are said to be dominant in different types of people. It is postulated that people are either left or right brain thinkers, and it is complicated for a person to try to think any differently than they already know how. The idea was raised in the 1860’s when Pierre Paul Broca, a French physician, came upon brain function lateralization. A patient of his had a speech deficit and could not process words correctly. When the patient passed and Broca did an autopsy he found that he had a lesion in the left hemisphere. Broca was the first person to discover that the left side of the brain controlled language (Murr and Williams, 1988). In the 1960’s Michael Gazzaniga and Roger Sperry were studying the effects of epilepsy. They discovered that by cutting the corpus collosum (the part that connects the two hemispheres) they could treat the seizures by reducing or eliminating them (Cherry, 2012). However, the patients began to show side effects of the procedure. Many were unable to name objects processed by the right brain but were able to name ones that were processed by the left. After studying the patients Sperry initiated the study of the two hemispheres and how they process and store information in different ways.
Left brain thinkers are good with logic, language, numbers and analytical thinking. Left brain thinkers tend to be more book oriented and like to read, take notes, and work on projects individually. They learn by writing things down, reading books, and reading instructions. A left brain learner will excel in subjects such as math, science and history. In the working world managers tend to be left brain dominant. They focus on organizing, and structuring situations (Dew, 1996). A left brain
References: Dew, J. (1996). Are you a right brain or left brain thinker. American Society for Quality, 29(4), 91-93. Murr, L. and Williams, J. (1988). Half-brained ideas about education: thinking and learning with both the left and right brain in a visual culture. The MIT Press. Cherry, K. (2012). About.com: Psychology. Retrieved July 29, 2012 from http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/left-brain-right-brain.htm Gazzaniga, M. (2002). The split brain revisited. Scientific American, 27-31. Left Brain vs. Right Brain