FUNCTIONS OF

LEFT BRAIN

Vs

RIGHT BRAINRohit kumarBBS

Are you Creative or Analytical?

Our brain has two halves – the right and the left. People using left part of the brain are usually logical and analytical. While those who use the right half of the brain are creative, innovative and imaginative.

Do you want to know whether you are right or left brained?

Try this! Read aloud, as quickly as possible,

the colour in which the words are written but not the actual words.

GREEN YELLOW BLUE ORANGE WHITE RED GREEN BLUE ORANGE YELLOW WHITE GREEN RED BLUE WHITE GREEN ORANGE YELLOW ORANGE BLUE GREEN RED WHITE YELLOW RED BLUE YELLOW ORANGE RED WHITE BROWN WHITE

If you merely read the words,

you are likely to be using right brain.

Whereas, if you read the colours,

you are using your left brain.

I'm creative and he's analytical

Have you ever thought why some people can paint beautifully, but have difficulty adding two and two? Or why some people can understand the intricacies of calculus effortlessly, but struggle to write a one-page essay?

It's all about which side of your brain dominates - the left or the right.

Left Brain vs. Right Brain

The human brain is bifurcated down the middle into two parts, popularly known as the left brain and right brain respectively. We know that different parts of the brain control different bodily and mental functions.

Over the years, a theory that has gained in popularity is that the right brain and the left brain are responsible for different modes of thought and that the way in which a person thinks will depend on which side of his brain predominates.

Left brain vs. right brain

People who rely more heavily on the right half of their brain tend to be more imaginative and intuitive. They see things as a whole and are interested in patterns, shapes and sizes. The right brain is associated with artistic ability like singing, painting, writing poetry, etc.

Left-brain dominated people may find their thought processes vague and difficult to follow, for they are quite opposite in the way they think. Left-brain dominated people tend to be more logical and analytical in their thinking and usually excel at mathematics and word skills.

But this does not mean that a person who is left or right brain dominated does not use the other part of his brain. For most people, the two parts of the brain work in tandem to enable them to function as well-rounded personalities.

The right brain absorbs new information in chunks, but it is the job of the left-brain to sift and sort it in an organized fashion. However, there is no clear-cut definition of the functions of the two parts of the brain. Each can do the other's work, just not as efficiently.

Most people have a tendency to lean towards using the left or right brain while thinking or learning. For instance, right brain dominated people are often poor spellers as they tend to rely more on their intuition rather than actually studying the order in which the letters in a word occur.

Academics and thinking

At the time of their birth, babies are not predisposed to be either left brain or right brain thinkers. Unfortunately, our education system with its emphasis on rote learning and exam syllabi is more tuned to encouraging left-brain activity, often to the detriment of right brain creativity.

School examinations are designed to test left-brain activity and encourage conformity in thought. There is a possibility that if right brain skills are not exercised, they may not develop sufficiently.

When it comes to academics, left brain dominated children do well at school, as they are more likely to respond to formal learning. They exhibit greater responsibility, are quite content to study by themselves and have greater concentration.

Right brain dominated children, on the other hand, are less likely to perform well academically. They prefer to study with company, cannot sit still for very long and are more responsive in informal settings.

Convergent and divergent thinking

Left brain and Right brain dominated people can also be categorized as divergent and convergent thinkers respectively. A convergent thinker has a systematic approach and plays by the rules. He analyzes everything and reaches a logical conclusion. Thus, scientific and mathematical activities are more up his street. Such people do very well on straightforward question and answer type tests.

Divergent thinkers, on the other hand, are creative and tend to throw the rules out of the window. They are artistic and always looking for ways to express themselves. They do much better in exams that require essay-type answers.

There is no such thing that it is better to be left brain dominated or right brain dominated. You need both kinds of thinking to function well. While a person may have a dominant style of thinking, it would be interesting to see how the other half works and even learn to develop the skills that you lack.

Left Brain Inventory Right Brain Inventory

Verbal, f ocusing on words, symbols, numbers Visual, f ocusing on images, patterns

Analytical, led by logic I ntuitive, led by f eelings

Process ideas sequentially, step by step Process ideas simultaneously

Words used to remember things, remember

names rather than f aces

Mind photos' used to remember things, writing things

down or illustrating them helps you remember

Make logical deductions f rom inf ormation Make lateral connections f rom inf ormation

Work up to the whole step by step, f ocusing on

details, inf ormation organised See the whole fi rst, then the details

Left Brain Inventory Right Brain Inventory

Highly organised Organisation tends to be lacking

Like making lists and planning Free association

Likely to f ollow rules without questioning them Like to know why you're doing something or why rules

exist (reasons)

Good at keeping track of time No sense of time

Spelling and mathematical f ormula easily

memorised

May have trouble with spelling and fi nding words to

express yourself

Enjoy observing Enjoy touching and f eeling actual objects (sensory

input)

Left Brain Inventory Right Brain Inventory

Plan ahead Trouble prioritising. So, of ten late, impulsive

Likely to read instruction manual bef ore trying Unlikely to read instruction manual bef ore trying

Listen to what is being said Listen to how something is being said

Rarely use gestures when talking Talk with your hands

Likely to believe you're not creative, need to

be willing to try and take risks to develop your

potential

Likely to think you're naturally creative, but need to

apply yourself to develop your potential

How Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain Thinking Impacts Learning

Curriculum--In order to be more "whole-brained" in their orientation, schools need to give equal weight to the arts, creativity and the skills of imagination and synthesis.

  Instruction--To foster a more whole-brained scholastic

experience, teachers should use instruction techniques that connect with both sides of the brain. They 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.

Assessment--For a more accurate whole-brained evaluation of student learning, educators must develop new forms of assessment that honor right-brained talents and skills.

Left Brain Teaching TechniquesLet’s say, for example, that you are introducing a unit on the solar system. Here are some left-brain teaching techniques that will help strong to moderate left-brain students feel engaged during your lesson:Write an outline of the lesson on the board. Students with left-brain strengths appreciate sequence. Go ahead and lecture! These students love to listen to an expert and take notes.

Discuss vocabulary words and create a crossword puzzle on the Solar System. Discuss the big concepts involved in the creation of the universe, how the solar system was formed, and so on. Left-brain students love to think about and discuss abstract concepts. Assign individual assignments so students may work alone. Ask the students to write a research paper on the solar system that includes both detail and conceptual analysis. Keep the room relatively quiet and orderly. Many students with left-brain strengths prefer not to hear other conversations when working on a stimulating project.

Right Brain Teaching Techniques Taking the solar system example, here are some right-brain teaching techniques that will help students with moderate to strong right-brain strengths get the most out of your lesson:During the lecture, either write the main points on the board or pass out a study guide outline that students can fill in as you present orally. These visual clues will help students focus even though you are lecturing. Use the overhead, the white board, or the chalkboard frequently. Since the students are apt to miss the points discussed verbally, the visual pointers will help the students “see” and comprehend the points. Have some time for group activities during the week of the solar system study. Right-brain students enjoy the company of others. Let the students create a project (such as a poster, a mobile, a diorama, or paper mache planets of the solar system) in lieu of writing a paper. Right-brained students often have excellent eye-hand coordination.

Play music, such as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Discuss how space might feel to an astronaut. Students with right-brain strengths are intuitive and like to get in touch with their feelings during the day. Bring in charts and maps of the universe and let the students find the Milky Way. Maps and graphs make use of the students’ strong right-brain visual-spatial skills. Maybe in a perfect world, right-brained teachers would be paired with right-brained students and so forth, but in today’s academia, that may seem like mere wishful thinking. It is true, however, that the educational system needs attention in more ways than one. Those students who are more right-brain dominant are not receiving adequate teaching in the classroom. However, if teachers strive to reach every student, the playing field can become more leveled. The idea of left-brain vs. right-brain continues to be a controversial subject in the scientific and academic world. As stated in the beginning of this article, no one person is completely left-brained or right-brained, but many tend to have a dominant side, and as both teachers and students uncover the complexities of brain function, learning may become easier.