ERIC Number: ED211518
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1981-Oct
Pages: 13
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Right Brain: An Emerging Frontier in Education.
Beals, Mark G.
The main thrust of American education has been cognitively oriented. Recent research on the human brain suggests that such orientation is a general function of only one hemisphere of the brain, the left. Because of the close relationships among speech, language, thinking, reasoning, and the higher mental functions, the left brain hemisphere traditionally has been viewed as dominant. However, both the left and the right hemispheres of the brain are involved in higher cognitive functions and operate in a complimentary fashion. The cognitive style of the right hemisphere is nonverbal, rapid, global, spatial, and perceptual. While each hemisphere may take in the same information, that information is processed in differing ways. The potential of the right hemisphere in visualizing, imagining, perceiving, creating, inventing, intuiting, and organizing spatially is not realized in the classroom where the organizational, reasoning, and verbal skills of the left hemisphere are emphasized. A study is proposed to examine the possibility of achieving a balance between the two brain hemispheres. Children six years of age will be involved in activities specifically designed to use right brain hemisphere processing skills. Five major topical areas will be sequentially presented: visualization, concentration, memory, creativity, and development of personal well-being. Evaluation of post-tests will be analyzed and profiles will be developed reflecting each subject's progress. (JD)
Descriptors: Cerebral Dominance, Cognitive Processes, Cognitive Style, Convergent Thinking, Creative Thinking, Divergent Thinking, Elementary Education, Learning Processes, Perceptual Development, Spatial Ability
Not available separately; see SP 019 382.
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Information Analyses; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Note: Paper presented at the Annual Symposium "Education and Contemporary America" of the Boise State University School of Education (2nd, Boise, ID, October 8-10, 1981).