1. How do two halves of the brain operate independently?
The theory of the structure and functions of the mind suggests that the two different sides of the brain control two different “modes” of thinking. The left and right hemispheres of our brain process information in different ways. We tend to follow our dominant side and start inculcating characteristics and areas of interest, typical of that side. Each individual perceives, conceives and processes information in a distinct fashion. But if can discover the best possible route that befits his/her learning curve, learning can become more efficient and less time consuming. When learning something new or difficult, we would naturally be inclined to use the learning style we are most comfortable with. Our brain tends to lean towards the preferred side. And while nothing is entirely isolated on one side of the brain or the other, the characteristics commonly attributed to each side of the brain serve as a valuable guide for improved and accelerated ways of learning. The left side of the brain deals with things the way they are-with reality. When left brain students are affected by the environment, they usually adjust to it. Not so with right brainers. Left brain people want to know the rules and follow them. In fact, if there are no rules for situations, they will probably conjure up rules to follow! But right brain people are sometimes not aware that there is anything wrong. So, right brain people must make sure they constantly ask for feedback and reality checks.
2. How might one use different techniques to teach reading to boys and girls based on research showing differences in male and female brains?
There is 15–20 percent more neural activity in a girl's brain than a boy's at a given time. Neither the boy's or girl's brain is superior or inferior, but differences in brain activity enable different parts of the female brain to work simultaneously in ways that the male brain does not. The male brain tends to compartmentalize its brain activity into fewer brain centers than the female brain does.
Girls and women have a greater number of nerve fibers in their skin as boys and men. Males feel pain, of course, but their bodies and brains feel less pain and move less experience of felt pain through the brain at any given moment than does a girl's body and brain.
Boys' brains have more gray matter, and girls' brains more white matter. Gray matter, a kind of neurotransmitter, localizes, compartmentalizes, and keeps brain activity in a single place in the brain—for
