Right-Brain Learners

Right-brain learners like to be creative. They tend to think “outside of the box.” They are dreamers and risk-takers.

As I described in Left-Brain, Right-Brain, Whole-Brain Learning, all learners use both sides of the brain to learn, however many people have a dominant hemisphere that they tend to use more often in learning situations. When you are aware of your child’s dominant hemisphere (if he has one) you will find that you will have an easier time teaching him in ways that work.

Today, I’m going to describe for you the unique characteristics of right-brain learners. In addition, I’ll give you some tips that will help you teach a right-brain learner effectively. It is my desire that sharing this knowledge with you will provide you with handy techniques for teaching your child.

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Characteristics of Right-Brain Learners

Below you’ll find some traits of right-brain learners. Bear in mind that not all of these characteristics will be true for all right-brain learners. If you find that most of them are true for your child, he may be a right-brain learner.

Right-brain learners:

are global
use their intuition
are inclined to be spontaneous
like to be creative
remember faces
are risk-takers
look for similarities in things
are emotional
tend to look at the big picture before the details
go from one task to another in a random way
prefer hands-on
favor open-ended assignments to structured ones
would rather answer open-ended, short-answer, and essay questions
remember information that they have become emotionally involved with
like to use their imagination
are dreamers
see possibilities
are subjective
tend to be spatially oriented
may be artistic (visual or performing arts)
find it a challenge to meet deadlines
may be late to appointments
tend to be kinesthetic learners
think “out-of-the-box”
prefer demonstrations and examples
like to see how things are connected
express their feelings
solve problems with hunches
may like to listen to music while working
use inductive reasoning
like positive reinforcement
want to be accepted
value relationships
like to draw and learn through pictures
favor a flexible, unstructured environment
prefer emotional and inspirational presentations
like to work in groups
make decisions based on experiences and intuition
remember images best
may use hand gestures when speaking
are good at multitasking
want to know the “why” before doing something

Tips for Helping Right-Brain Learners

Here are some techniques you can utilize when teaching a right-brain learner. They can be used to modify curriculum you already have or you can apply these methods when developing your own curriculum.

Use a whole-to-parts approach when teaching your child
Since right-brain learners remember pictures best, use lots of visuals
Have a flexible learning environment
Let your child brainstorm
Have music playing in the background while your child studies
Assign projects
Tie learning to feelings (how do you think that person felt, how do you feel about…)
Let your child role-play
Provide hands-on activities
Use charts, mind maps, and other graphic organizers to help your child see the “big picture”
Let your child work in small groups
Use colors and pictures on flashcards
Use humor when teaching
Let your child draw pictures to help him learn and remember concepts
When giving your child verbal instructions, draw images on a whiteboard or chalkboard to help him remember
Provide a creative outlet for your child with activities like creative writing, art, music, and Reader’s Theater
Show your child the “big picture” or the main concept before describing the parts
Let your child use hand gestures and other motions to describe concepts and solidify learning
Demonstrate skills or processes that you want your child to learn so that he can imitate you
Have open-ended discussions with your child

Let your child see you do a task from beginning to end before having him attempt it
Have your child make a collage about a particular topic
Discuss with your child the best ways to appropriately express his emotions
Have your child do experiments
Give your child open-ended questions including essay and short-answer questions
Let your child solve picture puzzles or puzzles that use inductive reasoning like riddles and 5-minute mysteries.