Left brain learning
People who like to use the skills attributed to the left part of their brain are mostly logical thinkers who tend to be patient, methodical and plan carefully. They generally do not get carried away by impulsive ideas but prefer to work out what they have to learn by breaking things down into fairly small structured steps. They like to see a job through from the beginning to the end. They are usually good at keeping to deadlines and have well developed organisational skills. Left brained learners are often good at listening and talking and following instructions.
A left brained learner will be uncomfortable trying to learn things in an unstructured environment without good guidelines to follow and time constraints built in. They should listen to talks and lectures and read their course material making short, linear notes with bullet points to help them remember. Storing notes in a logical way, e.g. a card index box/personal dictionary/indexed file, will suit the left brained person. Talking things over with friends and listening to tapes should also help their learning.

Right brain learners
People who like to use the skills attributed to the right part of their brain are often guided by their feelings and prefer learning when they are given the whole picture of a task ahead, rather than small parts of it. Right brained learners are often imaginative, creative and skilled in spatial tasks, e.g. putting things together from parts. They are often the people with good ideas but are not always as interested in the details and careful planning and organisation needed to see them through. Right brained learners tend to learn best by seeing pictures and images and often do not like working within tight time constraints.
A right brained learner will be uncomfortable if asked to work on tasks which have not been fully explained and that have very strict time limits. They learn best if talks and lectures are illustrated with slides, videos, graphs, pictures etc. and if they use similar things in their own work. Mind mapping using colour and pictures, flow charts, spidergrams and colour-coded index boxes or files are an easier way for the right brained person to record, plan and store information. Working with real materials whenever possible will help their learning.

Equally left/right balanced learners
Learners who use a ’whole brain’ approach to their work are probably able to work the most effectively. They can be creative, expressive and imaginative with good spatial skills, e.g. putting things together from their parts, and they also realise that to make ideas work, structure, planning and organisational skills are needed.
Equally balanced right/left brained learners still like to know the whole picture of the task before them but appreciate the need to break the task down into manageable parts and complete it within a time scale.
These learners should work well in a team because they have the flexibility required to adapt to new working patterns and new ideas. However, they do need to be careful of becoming indecisive in their efforts to always ’see’ the other point of view!