Date of Award
7-1-1980
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Educational Administration and Supervision
Abstract
Neurologist Hughlings Jackson postulated as early as 1864 that brain functions were appositionally lateralized, with the right side of the brain controlling the left side of the body and the left side of the brain the right side of the body. But it was not until the mid-1960’s that specific information was found as to the neurological basis for the two hemispheres, each with its very different method of processing information. Neuro surgeon Roger Sperry found in his split-brain experiments in 1967 that the left hemisphere tended to process abstractly in a linear fashion, in sequence, while the right processed simultaneously in space and image, in a synthesizing fashion. This evidence was the first replicable instance of proof that the hemispheres process differently. Educational programs generally teach to the left brain because the left seems to house the verbal and numerical processing systems. The right brain's ability to perceive the whole visual picture and to synthesize fragments of information, while less easily understood, would seem crucial to the processing of information. Yet research done with electroencephalograph equipment in the last ten years indicates that a majority of people do not process using the right hemisphere, precluding them of the opportunity to realize their potential in thinking. This project was undertaken to determine whether selected art activities could facilitate greater right-hemisphere use, and if indeed this increased use was measurable. The art curriculum was based on available literature concerning right-hemisphere information.
Recommended Citation
Jones, Eddith B., "An art curriculum designed to foster right-hemisphere development." (1980). Student Work. 2966.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/2966
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Comments
A Thesis Presented to the Department of Education and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha. Copyright 1980 Eddith B. Jones.