Post a COMMENT to this blog entry and share your experience of a time when you had to use both sides of your brain to solve a problem.
Example: (thank you, Hugo Gomez) "I was attempting to do a tune-up on my wife's car when I ran into a problem: a bad spark plug was stuck in the cylinder head and the opening was too small and deep for my fingers to reach in and grab it. Part of the wire was welded onto the top of the plug not allowing the wrench to take hold of the plug.(L)
I started thinking about other situations where there may have been items stuck inside something. Everything from TV shows where engagement rings went down the sink to images of Baby Jessica. (R)
I know I will need some sort of tool to remove the piece of metal blocking the spark plug. (L)
IDEA! I will use chopsticks to reach down and pull out the piece of metal thereby freeing the spark plug! (L/R)
I start convincing myself that this idea will work because chopsticks are much more slender than my fingers and I should be able to pluck that piece of metal. (L)
It didn't work. I couldn't generate enough leverage to pull out the piece of metal. The chopsticks kept slipping. I couldn't get a good grip. So I got another idea. I needed a chopstick with a hook on one end. This would give me the leverage necessary to pull out the piece of metal. (L/R)
Well, I know chopsticks have straight ends so I get a visual image of what's needed. I immediately know I have to use one of my wife's crochet hooks. It worked! (L/R)"
I have been a part of a program called Project Motivational Math since 2004. It is a program designed to get students excited about math. I was excited for the students but had no intention of participating. I low key try to avoid math classes lol.
ReplyDeleteHowever this mental math was much different. Right away I found my self noticing patterns (Right Mode) and being able to do alot of predicting, hunching and estimating (Right Mode). However I noticed the long stream of sequential math problems (Left mode) were not quite so hard when they were spoken rapidly (Right Mode). I found myself also enjoying his word problems that contained imagery (Right Mode & Left Mode) such as the number of angles in a rectangle times the number of eggs in a dozen. I for the first time I enjoyed doing math problems step by step (Left mode) using mental math short cuts. I was excited to re-learn the metric system (Left mode) because I had really forgotten some of the specifics. It was so exciting (Right Mode) because each time we answered a question it was very novel. (Right Mode) He would ask someone to give him a number and then create the mental math sequence of problems from that one number. I loved the game of classifying fractions. (Left Mode) as well as the game of math relay in which you get in a line at the board and piggy back off of each persons answer to solve your own problem in sequential order (Left Mode). Due to the speed of each game or skill practiced I had to learn another level of listening and how to quickly regroup and focus after each problem. (Left Mode) I also found my self imagining shapes in my head and sometimes even drawing them. Looking at them 3 dimensionally especially cones and cubes and spheres and things you have to find the volume of. I would have to imagine things from a spacial perspective. (Left and Right). I also had to break things apart and also see the whole in order to solve the fraction and decimal problems mentally with no pencil or paper. (Left and Right) I also participated in mental multiplication drills (Left Mode) while playing musical chairs. It really gave me whole brain experience.
This is terrific Wanda. What a super program. Your reactions are telling. I enjoyed reading this. Math is really heavily into the right mode. Good for you.
DeleteI don't know if I don't have these or don't pay attention, but this is really hard for me. One of the few times I remember sort of seeing the whole picture was in watching a Star Trek Next Generation episode where a scientist was studying a chrystalline entity that had killed her son. She had the Enterprise cause it to vibrate and instead of turning down whatever it was that was causing it to vibrate, she turned it up. When she started to make it vibrate, I knew she was going to kill it and was angry with Captain Picard for not being able to figure that out and letting it happen. Picard thinks too much. Needs to work on operating from hunches more like Kirk. Sorry, that was a long time ago so I don't remember more detail.
ReplyDeleteThat's from me, Lora
DeleteShurley English is awesome. I was first exposed to Shurley English as a candidate for graduation in Huntsville, AL. It was the best introduction to whole brain learning that I had ever experienced. It really motivated me as a new teacher, and I have been sharing the program for over 25 years with my students. The best part of the program is that it is fluent and spontaneous(right) while being controlled and systematic(left). It is very structured and includes many verbal instructions and writing prompts (left). While also including demonstrated instructions and simultaneous kinesthetic and musical overtone. I also learned a lot as a new ELA teacher on how to synthesize previously accumulated organized information with novel learning. (left and right) I learned how to use words (left) to create images and pictures (right) with freedom. I learned how to create sentences, phrases, and paragraphs from parts(left) to whole. (right) I enjoyed learning the many jingles (right) that accompanied the blah-blah (left). Finally, I really enjoyed learning the strategies on how to best teach sentence dissection and diagramming from a whole brain perspective. (left and right)
ReplyDeleteTracey, I am new to Shurley English, so I spent a short time reading over some of the materials. You are correct, it has lots of right brain materials yet with an emphasis on grammar, and English. Good example of whole brain thinking and doing.
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