The Left Brain vs the Right Brain: How Does This Impact Learning - Research Paper Example

The left brain versus the right brain: how does this impact learning The left brain versus the right brain: how does this impact learning The “split brain” experiments of Dr. Roger Sperry with split-brain patients concluded that the left and right brain has a specific function (Robbins, 1985). The result of the research took a life of its own that virtually pervaded many aspects of learning and teaching and stereotyped individual’s manner of learning and even its capability. The split brain phenomena as pioneered by Dr.

Sperry brought the idea of hemispheric specialization that people rely more on a certain hemisphere of the brain than the other was also been used to “discriminate people for occupational choice, defense mechanism and scholastic achievement (Vakil, Soreker and Borentstein, 1998 pg. 157). According to the split brain hemispheric dichotomy of the brain, left brained people were supposed to be logical. According to the popular description of people who displays particular inclination to this certain map of the brain, they are suppose to be detail oriented, facts dependent and has the facility of gab and language.

They should be particularly good in math and science due to its logic oriented cognitive brain. It is based on reality and trusts more the safe and the practical. The left brain is the logical brain and people who are left brained are supposed to be logical. The right brain on the other hand is for creativity. The brain speaks the language of feelings and imagination more than logic. It is more predisposed to looking at the bigger picture than the details. It is not concerned with sequence but rather by symbols and images.

Rather than math and science, the right brain is more concerned with spatial perception and thus, is the ambit of creativity. It follows that then that the right brain is fantasy oriented and is impetuous and adventurous. This notion about the left and right mode of thinking of the brain led Vakil, Soreker and Borentstein _ to study whether certain thinking processes are determined by certain hemisphere of the brain. True enough, the result of the study validated the initial conclusion of Dr.

Sperry that left brain people “performed well on the free recall of words, regardless of learning condition (Milne r, 1971 qtd in Vakil, Soreker and Borentstein pg. 156). This validated the sequential nature of the left brain that is used for identification and later translated to verbal cues such as words. The right brain on the other hand did well in “the memory frequency under intentional and incidental learning conditions, and memory of spatial location and temporal order under true incidental conditions” (pg. 157). This only validated that the right brain indeed is the repository of spatial construct and creativity.

The generalization however that people who showed predisposition towards certain hemisphere of the brain are only good in certain areas can be fatally wrong. To conclude that left brained people can only be good in math and that right brained people can only be good in the arts encumber holistic learning. Worden, Hinton and Fischer even called this idea a myth and poses a disconnect between science and actual teaching. They protested that the left – right brain concept does not make much sense in actual learning because people use all of their brains when they are trying to learn something.

True, certain hemispheres may play a larger role in certain tasks and functions as earlier mentioned that left brain does the speech function and the right for spatial cognition. But learning complex tasks requires and involves a widely distributed network of the brain areas that involves both the left and right hemisphere (Poldrack, Halchenko, and Hanson 2009 qtd. in Worden, Hinton and Fischer , 2011 pg. 11). This can even be traced back to the first experiment conducted by Dr. Sperry about left – right brain functions.

Split brained patients were shown pencil whereby their right brain was able to identify the pencil only that they cannot explain what it is used for. The right brain of the patients was able to explain the usage of the pencil which has a very serious implication in learning. Learning anything be it abstract concepts, sequential math or creative endeavors involves a very complex process that requires both sides of the brain. Each individual may approach learning with different methodology but it does not necessarily mean that just because an individual is right brained, he or she is already incapable of logic and vice versa.

In fact the ideal learning is to develop both sides of the brain and use them both effectively. Succeeding in today’s world requires both sides of the brain and thus it is now imperative to have a holistic learning that uses both side of the brain. References Robbins, Steven (1985). Left-Right Brain Research and its Premature Generalization to the Counseling Setting. Journal of Counseling and Development. Vol 64:235-239 Vakil, E; Soreker, N and Borentstein(1998). The Effect of R ight and Left H em ispheric Lesions on Effortful an d A utom atic M em ory Tasks LATERALITY , 3(2), 143-159 Worden, Jennifer M.

; Hinton, Christina and Fischer, Kurt (2011). What Does the Brain Have to Do with Learning? Kappan Magazine. 92(5):8-13.