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= Please provide your answers below the questions followed by your initials and grade level. = = Does your classroom/school promote L- or R- directed thinking? How? = = What is the proper balance? =

I think that NTES does an amazing job of promoting both L- and R- directed thinking. Coming from a middle school math environment, I can tell you that I have always been very L- directed. Finding ways to be more R- directed has always been somewhat of a challenge to me. While NTES has managed to heighten my ineffectiveness as a R- directed teacher, I am comforted to know that this school is so full of amazing and versatile talent. If this book does not paint a clear enough picture for you with regard to the importance of proper balance, you may not hit your target with these children. gkg

I think that my classroom promotes both right brain and left brain thinking because of the envrionment that I have created. My classroom is equiped with the following types of materials designed to stimulate both sides of the brain: math, art, science, reading, social studies, fine motor, and technology materials. My assistant and I facilitate this educationally rich envrioment by conducting a child directed teacher facilitated environment. This type of environment allows for children to use their cognitive, artistic, and problem solving skills and abilities to be creative and solve problems using both their right and left brain on a daily basis.

Pre-K and kindergarten teachers seem to be the starting line for acadmemic instruction these days- not much focus seems to occur in our students homes that prepares them for 21st century learning and thinking. We try to introduce them to so much and it needs to be done in a systematic way yet it's important for them to learn so much through discovery. Kindergarten uses Contracting to help students utilize both sides of their brain. That process involves elements of choice, research using a variety of resources, creation of a product, and presentation of that product to peers. We provide them with opportunites to work independently as well as in small teams. This ensures a balence of use of both sides of the brain.

I think I promote both types of thinking in my classroom. I try to develop and implement my instruction to meet the needs of all learners. I provide structure and teach the skills that are necessary to succeed. Now I am working on empowering my students to take risks and apply those skills and the knowledge they develop independently, in groups, and in various situations. This has been a challenge. My students are having a very tough time working independently and problem solving- they need constant affirmation that what they are doing is "right," and even with a workboard that shows them what their other assignments are for the week, they are still asking,"What do I do next?" and "Is this right?" We will keep working on it...it is frustrating at times, but how can we blame them when they are always being measured and asked to "choose the right answer?" JDA

Music uses both the analytical (reading and writing music notation) and the creative (composition, interpretation) so my class uses both Left and Right brain approaches. We do left brain type writing activites which are very straightforward copy off the board, i.e. writing down the words to the song that we are learning. When we invent our own rhythm lines (composition) that is an example of a right brain type activity. I think the proper balance might depend on the topic being covered. LCM

The library by nature reflects a combination of both left and right brain thinking. Both Informational texts and creative stories are available as resources. The right brained qualitites of empathy, emotion,spirituality and beauty are qualities thar are found and discussed from a variety of books. Illustration styles and book jacket designs are explored and admired. Left brained thinking is necessary for the organization and management of the library. Categorizing using a decimal system is basic to non-fiction location. Students receive instruction from both right and left brained lessons and teaching styles. Reading aloud, discussion and reflection, student recall and, sequencing, dramatizationa and drawing , sharing how books create feelings, using maps and almanacs, researching and citing sources are all part of the library instruction. Using resources can be viewed as left brained and appreciation as right! SC

Because I teach math I think the subject tends to promote left sided thinking. However, aspects of math pull from the right side such as geometry. Through classroom conversation we can tap into the right sided thinking and help those students who need support with algebraic concepts and numeration. There is always room for improvement though and the I& E time we use is a great venue for exploration. mbc I truly feel it takes both sides left and right, we as a profession are trying to move away from sit and take, project based learning, differentiation, technology in our classrooms for the teacher and the students is helping us move forward as a profession. Students need interdisciplinary lessons that incorpoarate not only technology but choices and a whole new way of learning, assessing, and simply planning for our students. We also need to remember that we have to look at our students as individuals when it comes to grades and data, this to is 21st century, not just technology in our rooms or computer labs,etc. Not just new minds but open minds are important for our students, many ways instead of one way.cpt To get to a proper balance between L/R in grades 3/5 is going to take creating assessments that require more than multiple choice answers to benchmark student understanding of reading/math/science. There are sections within the NAEP assessment that require students to read scenarios and then apply their R skills across the curriculum to respond to the scenario. I provides students and educators with a venue to transition from L to R as the student designs and creates a response to support their understanding of integrating all their subjects together to produce a 'unique' method to solve a problem. Wouldn't it be more productive to begin to integrate subject matter as it applies to a stated situation/scenario to promote thinking more R? Gr.4 SAS

NTES does many things to promote left and aright brained thinking. We have had exposure to professional development for multi intelligence. We try to design lessons based on differentiation and teach to our individual students. I think April’s comment about medical narratives helps us. We need to “start where the student is at”. This way we can hit both left and right brainers. mbc Because I teach math I think the subject tends to promote left sided thinking. However, aspects of math pull from the right side such as geometry. Through classroom conversation we can tap into the right sided thinking and help those students who need support with algebraic concepts and numeration. There is always room for improvement though and the I& E time we use is a great venue for exploration. mbc

IEP's, differentiation, teaching at the students level and setting up scenarios to promote thinking on their own seems to cover both right and left brain learning which EC has been doing forever. cl