I remember when teachers used to say, "Sit up straight in your seats!" Without knowing it, they were engaging the left side of the brain. Dunn and Dunn has found that the surface of a chair affects learning.
Left Brain is for New Information
The left brain takes in new information. In order for the left brain to be be engaged, students must be somewhat uncomfortable. Sitting on a hard surface and sitting upright "turns on" the left brain. The typical school desks, although not the most comfortable, are exactly what students need to learn.
Right Brain and Creativity
Once the new information is in the left side of the brain, the teacher may give an assignment to create a poster on the same information. Now, the creativity portion of the brain needs to be engaged. Bring in the right side of the brain. How is that done? Comfort. The students now may relax, sit on the floor and think.
Homework Time
How does this apply to where a student does homework? If a student is studying for a test, lying on the bed or sitting on a comfy Lay-Z-Boy are not good spots. A better choice would be in the dining room on a hard oak chair and sitting up straight. The student wants this information to go in and stay in.
What if the student is to write a creative essay on how Alexander the Great would react to today's society? Since the brain must "create" something original from already learned information, he will want to call in the right brain. The student may sit in a bean bag chair and develop an outline.
Know How To Throw the Switch
Left brains have a job and right brains have a job. Knowing how to throw the switch is crucial to use the brain in the manner it works best. If we buy tools, we read the directions on how to use them. Knowing how to use our brains just makes sense. Actually using them correctly makes even more sense.
Related articles: Famous Right Brains, Left Brains and Right Brains, Right/Left Brain Background, Left Brain Characteristics, SAT and the Learning Disabled.
Read previous articles on Educational Issues.
For more information on Dunn and Dunn research, see Books by Dunn and Dunn
Copyright article 2006 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
