Why Right-Brain Teaching is Half-Witted: A Critique of the Misapplication of Neuroscience to Education

✍ Scribed by Annukka K. Lindell; Evan Kidd

• Book ID: 114897661
• Publisher: Wiley (Blackwell Publishing)
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 524 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1751-2271
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-228x.2011.01120.x

✦ Synopsis

Educational tools claiming to use “right‐brain techniques” are increasingly shaping school curricula. By implying a strong scientific basis, such approaches appeal to educators who rightly believe that knowledge of the brain should guide curriculum development. However, the notion of hemisphericity (idea that people are “left‐brained” or “right‐brained”) is a neuromyth that was debunked in the scientific literature 25 years ago. This article challenges the validity of “right‐brain” teaching, highlighting the fact that neuroscientific research does not support its claims. Providing teachers with a basic understanding of neuroscience research as part of teacher training would enable more effective evaluation of brain‐based claims and facilitate the adoption of tools validated by rigorous independent research rather than programs based on pseudoscience.