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It’s a Left-Brain Thing
Daniel Willingham is our favourite cognitive psychologist, as he never takes sides and just tells it as it is. For a sample of his very helpful columns for parents (think how to study, how to teach critical thinking, learning styles, and much more), click here.
This article from The Washington Post sees Dr. Willingham weighing in on right-brain/left-brain learning. In a nutshell, just about everything you think about “right-brain creativity” and “left-brain analytical thinking” is wrong. Brain function is far too complex to be reduced to such a simple formula.
For the most part, the popular conception of right-brain/left-brain differences is harmless, but when teachers abandon effective teaching methods in a well-meaning attempt to teach math in a way that will reach right-brain learners, brain-based learning becomes actively harmful.