The brain is split into a right hemisphere and a left hemisphere and it is usual for one side to dominate over the other at any one time. It is difficult to achieve a balance between the two. There is also a group brain, which is present during the time that teaching and learning are taking place. As you are most often working with the class as a whole, we are talking about right brain and left brain as they apply to the group.
When you walk into your class you will be able to tell right away whether they are in right brain or left brain mode. You have probably seen it before, but maybe you have not really understood what was happening. When you walk into the classroom and it is noisy, you have a group in right brain mode and if the class is relatively quiet, then you have a group in left brain. We discussed in my prior article about developing a rapport with your class. However, when you have a right brain or left brain day, there are other ways to approach the teaching that will allow you to work with the group.
As a teacher you will have to be creative in order to work with the class whether they are in the right brain or the left brain. You will need to be able to shift your teaching such that you take advantage of the learning opportunity as it is presented. Here is a general rule of thumb to follow:
• On right brain days, start with the whole and then move to teaching the parts leading back to the whole
• On left brain days, start with the parts and teach to the whole
» Read more: NLP For Teachers – How to Find Balance Between Right Brain and Left Brain Days
