The Relationship Between Teacher Brain Hemisphere Dominance and Teaching Style Preference:an Exploratory Study

Abstract

Based on research findings concerning the lateral dominance of the human brain, it was hypothesized that right hemisphere dominant teachers will have a greater preference for inductive rather than deductive teaching methods while left hemisphere dominant teachers will have a greater perference for deductive teaching methods. 58 teaching-career graduate students were tested for hemispheric dominance by checking lateral eye movements, and were administered the Preference for Teaching Style (PTS) rating scale. The left movers (right hemisphere dominant subjects) rated the inductive teaching methods as preferable, while the right movers (left hemisphere dominant subjects) rated the deductive teaching methods as preferable. The implication of these results for teacher education were considered.