Left-Brain/Right Brain Learning Differences
Another method of categorizing individual learning styles is by brain hemispheres. Asselin and Mooney (cited in Miller, 2001) described learners as either right brain, global, or left brain, analytic. In general, global learners “perceive things as a whole, make broad general distinctions among concepts, are people oriented, and learn material in a social context” (p. 3). Analytic learners, on the other hand, perceive things in parts rather than as whole and impose structure or restrictions on information and concepts” (Miller, 2001, p. 3).
How individuals concentrate on and remember new and difficult information is related to whether their cognitive processing style is global or analytic. Some learners learn more easily when information is presented step-by-step in a sequential pattern that builds toward a conceptual understanding. Others learn more easily either when they understand the concept first and then concentrate on the details or when they are introduced to the information with a humorous story or anecdote related to their experience and replete with examples and graphics (Dunn, 1995, p. 18).
Brain Hemispheres
| Left Brain: | Analytical, logical, sequential, step-by-step, rational, part-to-whole |
| Right Brain: | Holistic, random, intuitive, subjective, synthesizing |
