Teaching Left Brain Concepts

with a
Approach

Nick Hudyma, PhD PE

Civil Engineering, CCEC

Teaching Left Brain Concepts

with a
Approach

INTRODUCTION

What is all the fuss about?

1990 1993 study by Seymour & Hewitt
335 students at 7 institutions
Validated via 125 students at 6 other
institutions
The number one reason for leaving the
sciences was

POOR TEACHING

What is all the fuss about?

Professors are trained to perform
research, not teach
There is a disconnect between how we
teach and how students learn

Left Brain/Right Brain Theory

Left Brain/Right Brain Theory
Developed in the early 1970s by Dr. Roger Sperry
from the University of California
Lateral lobes of our cerebral cortex function
differently from each other

How does this Influence Teaching and Affect

Learning?

Lateral lobes function

differently from each other

Using the following pictures, think of

KEYWORDS that describe the left
brain and right brain

Keywords
LEFT BRAIN

Keywords
RIGHT BRAIN

Left Brain vs. Right Brain

Logical
Mathematical
Sequence
Serious

Analysis
Verbal
Rational

Lateral lobes function

differently from each other

Which are YOU?

Personality Traits

LEFT BRAIN
Prefer classical music
Dog lovers
Almost never absent
minded
Like to tell stories but
not act them out
Organized

Prefer rock music

Cat lovers
Occasionally absent
minded
Enjoy creative story
telling

Likely Professions

LEFT BRAIN

Engineering
Sciences
Financial
Lawyer

Actor / Actress
Artist
Craftsperson
Athlete

Teaching Left Brain Concepts

with a
Approach

Influence on Teaching
and
Affects on Learning

Now you know

You have probably now figured out what I
am doing here

I am a Right Brained
Engineer

Learning Styles
Based on the work of Felder and Soloman
(http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSdir/styles.htm)

Active and Reflective Learners

Sensing and Intuitive Learners
Visual and Verbal Learners
Sequential and Global Learners

Active vs. Reflective Learners

Active learners must do something with the
information they receive; Reflective learners
must first think about the information they
receive
Active learners like groups
Long lectures are tough for Active learners

Sensing vs. Intuitive Learners

Sensors like facts; Intuitors prefer discovering
possibilities and relationships
Sensors like solving problems using well established
methods and dislike complications and surprises;
Intuitors like innovation and dislike repetition
Sensors are patient with details and good at memorizing
and hands on work; Intuitors are better at grasping
new concepts and mathematical formulations

Visual vs. Verbal Learners

Visual learners like diagrams, pictures, flow
charts, etc.
Verbal learners get more out of words both
spoken and written.
All people learn best when a combination
of these methods are used

Sequential vs. Global Learners

Sequential learners gain understanding in linear
steps (logical order)
Global learners tend to learn in large jumps
(absorb material seemingly randomly and
suddenly get it)
Global learners may have difficulty explaining
how they arrived at a solution

Learning Styles Left Brain

Prefer verbal instructions
Attentive during long verbal explanations
Prefer well structured assignments over
open ended ones
Read for specific details and facts

Learning Styles Right Brain

Prefer visual instructions with examples

Become restless during long verbal
explanations
Prefer to learn through free exploration
Solve problems intuitively
Read for main details

Thinking Styles Left Brain

Need total quiet to read or study

Can think better sitting down
Usually remember things specifically
studied
Usually do things in a planned orderly way

Thinking Styles Right Brain

Think better when lying down

Can listen to music or TV while studying
Skilled in showing relationships between
ideas
Prefer summarizing over outlining

Learning vs. Teaching

Most Engineering
Most Teaching is (Felder
Students are (Zyno):
and Silverman):
Visual
Sensing
Active
Sequential

Verbal
Intuitive
Neither Active nor
Reflective
Sequential

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Right Brained Methods for

Left Brained Courses

R.B. Methods for L.B. Courses

My Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy comes from my
own learning experiences
I was never the top student
I always used creative methods for problem
solving

R.B. Methods for L.B. Courses

Edutainment
Engineering education is dry and boring
I try to add some excitement to class by
incorporating edutainment
Fun way of learning
Sesame Street
Bill Nye the Science Guy

R.B. Methods for L.B. Courses

Edutainment
Great but how to incorporate into the
curriculum?
Humor
Models
Simple Hands On experiments that
incorporate engineering principles

R.B. Methods for L.B. Courses

Humor

Here are two text book examples I use when

talking about torque

R.B. Methods for L.B. Courses

Models

Here is an example
problem I use when
discussing a force
causing rotation
about an axis

R.B. Methods for L.B. Courses

Experiments Squeeze & Tease

Make sure there is a water column in the tube

Squeeze the sides of the container
Describe what happens to the water column and
sand

R.B. Methods for L.B. Courses

Explanation Squeeze & Tease

The sand in the squeeze bottle is densely

packed
In order to deform, the sand grains must
ride over one another
This causes an increase in space between
grains (dilation)

Concluding Remarks
In any course, there will be students who
are:
LEFT BRAIN DOMINANT, RIGHT BRAIN
DOMINANT or a combination of the two
Active or Reflective Learners
Sensing or Intuitive Learners
Visual or Verbal Learners
Sequential or Global Learners

Concluding Remarks
Try to incorporate many different learning
techniques into your classroom sessions to
break up the monotony of a long lecture

Humor
Demonstrations
Problem solving
Small group discussion

References
Seymour and Hewitt, 1997. Talking about leaving: why
undergraduates leave the sciences. Westview Press.
http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSdir/styles.htm
Zyno, 2003. A contribution to validation of score
meaning for Felder-Solomans Index of Learning Styles.
ASEE Conference Proceedings, Session 2351
Felder and Silverman, 1988. Learning and teaching
styles in engineering education. Engineering Education,
78(7), pp. 674-681.