Nika2013
Rookie
- Banned
- #1
Right Hemisphere Dominance v Learning Disorder
I have worked with over 1000 children in an educational setting in my lifetime and one thing that I have noticed is that children with alleged learning disorders (dyslexia, autism, autism spectrum otherwise undiagnosed) seem to be processing information from the right-hemisphere, rather than the left (as most students process information) My own children were doing this before I took them from school and created a curriculum that addressed their particular needs and which would eventually integrate both hemispheres in learning. It seems unquestionable that a person using both hemispheres would be at a greater advantage than one in which one hemisphere (left or right) is dominant.
Recently, I tutored a student (who was having learning difficulties) using the curriculum I developed for my own children and he rapidly learned all concepts that I presented to him in this format and received 100% on each assignment. The problem persists when the classroom teacher refuses to adjust her teaching style for visual right-hemisphere learners. In the immediate case of which I speak, the reluctance is so severe that the child will not be able to learn without additional tutoring.
The question that I ask in this post is: Are schools diagnosing children as learning disabled and placing them in special education for life when simple techniques can reverse the so-called disorders? I challenge teachers of these children (and mainstream teachers) to use these techniques over a period of three months to seek miraculous changes in their students. My own son whom teachers said would never be able to read or spell or do mathematical computations (even though he was reading at 4) is now an international honor student at the top of his class with all As in his university masters program.
Here are some simple tricks that teachers can use, immediately, to reverse these problems:
1. Make everything visual for the student and use experiential learning (hands-on) whenever possible.
2. Use bright colors, patterns and art work to present the material as the right-hemisphere prefers these. Place math problems inside of colorful parrots (example) Put spelling words on a spiral snake that the student creates as a mobile. Teach fractions through cooking and recipes.
3. Use the outdoor environment to teach all subjects, not just science. Go for a walk sketch the environment Write poems about what one sees Study oceans and streams Gather the water..Is it clean or dirty? When it snows..or rains..measure these in inches gathered in a container .What sea life is in the ocean? Give examples and put math problems inside of these Let the children paint or color the animals. Take photographs enlarge these as posters .photograph fall trees.
4. Use many different types of music while teaching Vivaldi Pop..Rap..and Rock With older kids, teach how political and sociological perspectives influence music and musicians. We searched the law library for the censorship case of 2Live Crew and the kids found it in the Florida Appellate Records. We studied 1st Amendment rights and freedom of speech in this context.
5. Create a diorama of the habitat that you are trying to teach .Have the kids write poems and stories and make mobiles of these
6. Study the planets at JPL online (Nasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Use interactive games. Go to a planetarium.
You are engaging the right-hemisphere when you use color, repetitive sound, patterns, mazes, music, and the outdoors to teach .and these are the people who grow up to be musicians, artists, scientists, computer techs, engineers, if taught in their own learning styles.
I have worked with over 1000 children in an educational setting in my lifetime and one thing that I have noticed is that children with alleged learning disorders (dyslexia, autism, autism spectrum otherwise undiagnosed) seem to be processing information from the right-hemisphere, rather than the left (as most students process information) My own children were doing this before I took them from school and created a curriculum that addressed their particular needs and which would eventually integrate both hemispheres in learning. It seems unquestionable that a person using both hemispheres would be at a greater advantage than one in which one hemisphere (left or right) is dominant.
Recently, I tutored a student (who was having learning difficulties) using the curriculum I developed for my own children and he rapidly learned all concepts that I presented to him in this format and received 100% on each assignment. The problem persists when the classroom teacher refuses to adjust her teaching style for visual right-hemisphere learners. In the immediate case of which I speak, the reluctance is so severe that the child will not be able to learn without additional tutoring.
The question that I ask in this post is: Are schools diagnosing children as learning disabled and placing them in special education for life when simple techniques can reverse the so-called disorders? I challenge teachers of these children (and mainstream teachers) to use these techniques over a period of three months to seek miraculous changes in their students. My own son whom teachers said would never be able to read or spell or do mathematical computations (even though he was reading at 4) is now an international honor student at the top of his class with all As in his university masters program.
Here are some simple tricks that teachers can use, immediately, to reverse these problems:
1. Make everything visual for the student and use experiential learning (hands-on) whenever possible.
2. Use bright colors, patterns and art work to present the material as the right-hemisphere prefers these. Place math problems inside of colorful parrots (example) Put spelling words on a spiral snake that the student creates as a mobile. Teach fractions through cooking and recipes.
3. Use the outdoor environment to teach all subjects, not just science. Go for a walk sketch the environment Write poems about what one sees Study oceans and streams Gather the water..Is it clean or dirty? When it snows..or rains..measure these in inches gathered in a container .What sea life is in the ocean? Give examples and put math problems inside of these Let the children paint or color the animals. Take photographs enlarge these as posters .photograph fall trees.
4. Use many different types of music while teaching Vivaldi Pop..Rap..and Rock With older kids, teach how political and sociological perspectives influence music and musicians. We searched the law library for the censorship case of 2Live Crew and the kids found it in the Florida Appellate Records. We studied 1st Amendment rights and freedom of speech in this context.
5. Create a diorama of the habitat that you are trying to teach .Have the kids write poems and stories and make mobiles of these
6. Study the planets at JPL online (Nasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Use interactive games. Go to a planetarium.
You are engaging the right-hemisphere when you use color, repetitive sound, patterns, mazes, music, and the outdoors to teach .and these are the people who grow up to be musicians, artists, scientists, computer techs, engineers, if taught in their own learning styles.
