Left brain: how does it affect your life?

The Genetic Brain Profile consists of testing a few dominant body parts or modalities, the centre of which is the brain hemisphere. We all know about left brain versus right brain, but the Genetic Brain Profile goes much deeper than that.
Any combination of dominant modalities are possible, so don't think if you are right handed your are necessarily right footed as well. And remember: you need both sides of your brain to function, you won't just use one side - one side is just more dominant than the other.

Let's look at the left brain today.

Left brainers are the organised, logical bunch in our society. They like structure and routine and they find comfort in knowing exactly what the day will bring. Actually when things are unpredictable or if they are uncertain of something, they feel insecure and stressed.

Left brain children are notorious for asking the same questions over and over.
"Mom, what time is dinner?"
"Mom, what are we having for dinner?"
"Mom, what time will you pick me up from school?"
"Dad, what time will you be home?"
"Who will be at the party?"
These can drive a parent nuts, especially when the same question is repeated multiple times. "I already told you!"
It's vital to understand that these kids don't ask just to bug you. They actually want to know that the status quo hasn't changed in the mean time. They don't want to be surprised, they want to be prepared.

This is true of adults as well, although they don't ask so many questions. They still want to know what will happen, where, when, how and who is involved. Knowing gives them a sense of security.

Left brainers are not keen on change. If the plans have changed and they weren't notified, they become upset and confused. They prefer to know about a change (meeting schedule, moving house, new school, etc.) in advance so they can prepare for that change and get used to the idea before it happens. The bigger the change, the more advance warning they need.

When left brainers stress their right brains aren't working so well, which explains why left brain kids have trouble with writing essays or answer essay questions, especially under pressure. They don't usually have trouble recalling information, but they may struggle to implement it creatively.

This is just a taste of what a Genetic Brain Profile will tell you. Even if you know all of your dominant modalities, it's the interaction between them that makes things interesting. And don't think that an online left vs right brain test will be accurate - for some it is, others will get mixed results depending on the test they take.

I will gladly answer any questions you have and if you are curious about your Genetic Brain Profile, give me a shout out and I will happily assess yours (and/or your children's).

If you've missed my previous posts on the left handed and right handed traits, be sure to visit those posts for more insightful information!
UPDATE: Here is the link to the RIGHT BRAIN as well.

Exam, Procrastination & Time Management

When it comes to studying, students are notorious for their excellent procrastination skills. Procrastination during the school year can cause stress and frustration to both students and parents as exams approach and the pressure to remember important facts increases. With just a little bit of planning and organising, the stress levels surrounding exams can be reduced significantly. Let’s see how...

On Your Marks...
You’ve heard it said over and over, but it’s worth repeating: there is no time like the present. Don’t wait for tomorrow or put studying off until the night before the big test, start you exam preparations today. The possibility exists that if you fall into this routine of pre-test cramming; you may well be putting all the information into your short term memory rather than your long-term memory; meaning that you will have to re-learn it all before the next test or exam.

Get Set...
Don’t spend too much time planning and organising either. It can easily happen that you spend hours or days planning to study, organising books and making a neat time table when in fact you are not really focussing on the material you need to be revising. Complete your planning quickly and well ahead of time.
When is the right time to start preparing for an exam? A month, 2 weeks, or maybe 2 even days before? No. The key is to do a little bit of preparation every day from the start of the term so that all the work will be summarised and ready to study by exam time.

STUDYING = revision, identifying possible questions, working out long questions, going over old papers.

Studying is not making notes from scratch.

Go!
Taking notes in class is your first step to being prepared for exams. When you get home after school, take some time to read through your class notes and compare them to your textbook and other material to make sure your notes are complete.

Don’t rewrite your textbook! The idea is to summarise the key points in your textbook into a few pages with as few words as possible. If you like, use colours, pictures, graphs, etc. to make it easy for you to understand your notes.
If you invest a little time every day after school in exam preparation, you won’t waste hours during exam time prettying up your notes; you’ll be ready to study them much faster than if your notes are a mess.

Create a revision sheet for each subject and mark your progress in each section as you complete it. It is also important to make notes of sections you do not fully know or understand and need to return to. This way you can keep track of your progress and it’s a fantastic way for parents to monitor your studying.
Not sure what a revision sheet is or how to make one?
You can download a printable sample revision sheet and print a copy by following this link.

A Break from the action
It is also good to remember that students shouldn’t be studying around the clock.

Study breaks are very important to let the brain rest and be refreshed for the next study session. Study sessions should range between 20 min for Gr. 4 students and 1 hour for Gr. 12 and above.

Breaks should be between 10 and 30 min, but this does not mean taking a quick nap or watching a TV program. During study breaks, students should engage in some kind of physical activity. Play outside with the dog, shoot some hoops, jog around the block, run around the house or just take a walk. The physical activity will help energise your mind in preparation for the next study session.

Whilst we've managed to scratch the surface regarding effective study skills and how to avoid procrastination, a personal consultation with one of our trained Edu-Profilogists® will give you an in-depth insight into YOUR personal learning style. You will also be given customised study skills tips and one on one training on information recall techniques best suited to you. To book your assessment and personal study skills course, email now.