Activity B

Determining which side is dominant

You will lead the group in an activity that will help them see which side of the brain is their more dominant side.

Activity with movement or handout

Preparation

Move desks and chairs, if necessary, to make room for participants to line up in the centre of the room and move around.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

  1. Ask tutors to stand in a line one behind the other.
  2. Read the questions from the list below. First read a question from the one column, then read the corresponding question from the other column.
  3. As you read a question from the list, tutors will either step to the right or left. Ask them to move according to the way they would most often react to the question. Ask them to move far away from centre if the tendency is strong. Ask them to remain at centre if both questions apply to them equally. Tell them to wait to hear both questions before they move either to the left or to the right.

Analytical/Global Activity

These questions come from Toni Garlock’s book, Building Blocks: A Family Literacy Program for Your Community, and are used with permission.

Step to the left OR Step to the right
Do you rely on words to communicate?   Do you rely on visual or kinesthetic clues?
Do you listen to what the word means?   Do you react to the pitch and feeling of the speaker?
Do you remember facts and dates?   Do you remember images and patterns?
Do you like things in logical sequence?   Can information come at you from all directions?
Do arguments need to be logical to convince you?   Do arguments based on emotion convince you?
Do you need to plan ahead?   Do you like spontaneous activity?
Do you remember names?   Do you remember faces?
Do you speak without or with few gestures?   Do you speak with a lot of gestures?
Do you take time to think things through?   Are you impulsive?

4. Those who have moved more to the left have analytical tendencies while, those who have moved more to the right have global tendencies. Those who have moved further from the centre line will have stronger tendencies than those who are close to the centre. Those who are on the centre line use both sides of the brain equally well.

Variation

If your space is too small to do this activity by moving around the room, then make a handout with the questions listed below (turn the questions into statements for this variation). Ask tutors to check off which statement best describes them. The side with the most check marks will be their dominant side.