Bilateral Integration
Bilateral Integration, or the cooperation of the two hemispheres of the brain, is fundamental to the learning process. The corpus callosum, a thick band of fibers, is a structure of the brain that is involved with connecting and integrating its two halves, with approximately 250 million nerve fibers (Lengel & Kuczala, 2010). The more that the two sides work together, the more connections are made between the halves and the denser this area becomes. In fact, Researchers have found during autopsies that the corpus callosum is much denser in those who had professions, such as musicians and singers, whereas in individuals with dyslexia it is significantly smaller than in average individuals (Hannaford, 1995).
“Between 6 ½ and 8 years of age a major period of myelination takes place, in which connections between the vestibular system, the cerebellum, and the corpus callosum are strengthened. This is the same time in development when lateral preference should become established,” (Goddard Blythe, 2007, p. 101). Cross lateral movements, like crawling, activate large areas of both hemispheres in a balanced way. It “makes it possible for nerve networks to form and myelinate in the corpus callosum. This makes communication between the two hemispheres faster and more integrated for high-level reasoning, (The Brain-Movement Connection, n.d., para. 23).
“Even though certain circuits are created through movement, they can be recruited by other areas and used for thinking. This is why learning how to play the piano makes it easier for kids to learn math. The prefrontal cortex will co-opt the mental power of the physical skills and apply it to other situations” (Ratey, 2008, p. 56). Yoga, ballet, gymnastics, figure skating, Pilates, and martial arts all engage nerve cells throughout the brain and strengthen the integration of the two sides of the brain. “Studies of dancers…show that moving to an irregular rhythm versus a regular one improves brain plasticity” (Ratey, 2008, p. 56).
Results of a lack of Bilateral Integration
Although many may think that math is a left-brained skill, we actually use both hemispheres to calculate and solve problems, in fact, a simple arithmetic problem can “involve up to nine changes in hemispheric dominance” (Blythe, 2009, p. 276). When one hemisphere is “turned off” we are unable to access all that is necessary to calculate a problem. The following illustration, by Renee Lawton Brown from Hampstead Dyslexia Clinic, demonstrates how the different hemispheres are being used when calculating:
“Between 6 ½ and 8 years of age a major period of myelination takes place, in which connections between the vestibular system, the cerebellum, and the corpus callosum are strengthened. This is the same time in development when lateral preference should become established,” (Goddard Blythe, 2007, p. 101). Cross lateral movements, like crawling, activate large areas of both hemispheres in a balanced way. It “makes it possible for nerve networks to form and myelinate in the corpus callosum. This makes communication between the two hemispheres faster and more integrated for high-level reasoning, (The Brain-Movement Connection, n.d., para. 23).
“Even though certain circuits are created through movement, they can be recruited by other areas and used for thinking. This is why learning how to play the piano makes it easier for kids to learn math. The prefrontal cortex will co-opt the mental power of the physical skills and apply it to other situations” (Ratey, 2008, p. 56). Yoga, ballet, gymnastics, figure skating, Pilates, and martial arts all engage nerve cells throughout the brain and strengthen the integration of the two sides of the brain. “Studies of dancers…show that moving to an irregular rhythm versus a regular one improves brain plasticity” (Ratey, 2008, p. 56).
Results of a lack of Bilateral Integration
Although many may think that math is a left-brained skill, we actually use both hemispheres to calculate and solve problems, in fact, a simple arithmetic problem can “involve up to nine changes in hemispheric dominance” (Blythe, 2009, p. 276). When one hemisphere is “turned off” we are unable to access all that is necessary to calculate a problem. The following illustration, by Renee Lawton Brown from Hampstead Dyslexia Clinic, demonstrates how the different hemispheres are being used when calculating:
This is just an example of what is happening when solving a “naked number” problem. Imagine what needs to transpire to solve word problems, which are so cognitively challenging for our struggling learners. If language and math difficulties go hand-in-hand, then the added complexity of having to read, understand the context, and decide what to do with the information can be almost unbearable.
Lack of integration of the two sides of the body is common among children who are learning disabled (Pheloung, 1997). Being able to cross the midline, an invisible wall down the center of the body that should have disappeared by the age of 4, is a “developmental gate” that children pass through on the road to bilateral coordination (Oden, 2004). However, if children have not yet integrated some primitive reflexes, to be discussed in a later section, such as the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) or Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR), then the ability for the child to cross the midline will be impeded. In this case, each arm will move in response to the position of his head (or neck) instead of an independent unit. He will have difficulty disassociating his arms from his head movement or the movement of one arm from the other (Oden, 2006).
I have many students whose two sides of their bodies are not cooperating and working smoothly together. One sign of this in children over the age of 7 is that they do not automatically know their left from their right (Phelong, 1997). It is very likely that children with a lack of biliateral integration did not crawl, or did not crawl enough, as an infant. Crawling is absolutely critical. It was mentioned earlier that cultures that did not allow their children to crawl did not develop written language on their own. For a child to copy easily from the board, he must have crawled properly (cross laterally) for at least 6 months.
I once had a 5th grade student who had to lay her head down when asked to simply identify a quantity of base ten blocks. This was an indication that she was very poorly integrated. I noticed one day that she was unable to do cross-lateral movements while standing. This is an exercise where one leg raises and the opposite hand, or elbow, touches the knee of the raised leg. I asked her to crawl on the mat and she was only able to do it homolaterally, which consists of moving forward the hand and leg from the same side of the body. Her mother later confirmed at a parent-teacher conference, that she never really crawled because she was always so anxious as a child, and thus was held until she was able to walk.
I notice that many of my struggling learners have mixed dominances and are often left-eyed. It can be inefficient to have a dominant eye, ear, and hand that a not on the same side as each other. “A child who is totally right-sided or totally left-sided has an easier time learning to read and write than one who constantly has to decide whether to pay attention to the messages coming from the right side of his body, or those coming from the left” (Gold, 2008 p. 133). Aside from hand, eye, ear, and foot, we are also hemisphere dominant and either use more of the right or left sides of our brain. In children who are more balanced, they will use both sides of their brain, but will be slightly dominant in one or the other. It is ideal to be dominant in the side that is controlling the dominant limbs. Some children, however, have been forced to write with the arm that was not destined to be their dominant one. When children are using the wrong hand for writing, their speech and language can be affected, (Pheloung & King, 1993).
Some individuals are working off of one hemisphere and unable to access the other. Their other hemisphere is in a way “turned off” and difficult to access, especially in a learning, or otherwise stressful situation. Some children may be all right-sided, but only accessing the right hemisphere, especially in times of stress. For some, they are in a constant state of stress, whether it be emotional or physical (from food intolerances, for example). If their right hand, ear, and eye is being controlled by the left hemisphere, but they are nearly exclusively right-brained, then in times of stress, they will be come overwhelmed and stuck and unable to access the hand, ear, and eye. “One side of the brain may not be given the opportunity to recognize it knows the answer or to communicate the relevant information to the other side of the brain. This is sometimes a problem in children diagnosed with ADD” (Goddard, 2005, p.49).
I have students who are clearly working exclusively off the right-side with a turned-off left hemisphere. These students are able to use reasoning to figure out problems, but it is the basic arithemetic, calculation, and symbolic notation that trips them up. They have decent estimation skills, but cannot remember their facts or procedures and make calculation errors. These are students that highly benefit from a calculator. On the other hand, if you gave students who are left-brain strong and right-brained weak a calculator, they might not know what to do to solve the problem. They most likely will do random things to numbers and not be able to determine the reasonableness of their answer. Individuals who are unable to access their right brains are also those who tend to struggle with geometry and other aspects of mathematics involving visual-spatial skills. They tend to be the hardest workers but unable to retain information.
If the corpus callosum is developed between 6 ½ and 8 years of age, then we need to teach differently in the early years than we do once children have been able to fully connect both sides of their brain. “Children who are doing really well in reading in the first few grades often fail after the third grade, because they have relied on the look see method, which is basically aimed at the right side of the brain. They may need to be taught to read all over again” (Gold, 2008, p. 134).
I had another 5th grade student, who exactly fell into this category. During conferences, my student’s parents could not understand why their child was struggling in school as much as he was. They claimed that he had absolutely no issues through the third grade, however in both language arts and mathematics he was severely struggling. It was clear that he only had access to his right-brain. He was able to able to access information through discussion, but could not put anything to writing. He was able to nicely solve math problems mentally through reasoning and estimation, but could not learn a procedure to save his life.
Lack of integration of the two sides of the body is common among children who are learning disabled (Pheloung, 1997). Being able to cross the midline, an invisible wall down the center of the body that should have disappeared by the age of 4, is a “developmental gate” that children pass through on the road to bilateral coordination (Oden, 2004). However, if children have not yet integrated some primitive reflexes, to be discussed in a later section, such as the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) or Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (STNR), then the ability for the child to cross the midline will be impeded. In this case, each arm will move in response to the position of his head (or neck) instead of an independent unit. He will have difficulty disassociating his arms from his head movement or the movement of one arm from the other (Oden, 2006).
I have many students whose two sides of their bodies are not cooperating and working smoothly together. One sign of this in children over the age of 7 is that they do not automatically know their left from their right (Phelong, 1997). It is very likely that children with a lack of biliateral integration did not crawl, or did not crawl enough, as an infant. Crawling is absolutely critical. It was mentioned earlier that cultures that did not allow their children to crawl did not develop written language on their own. For a child to copy easily from the board, he must have crawled properly (cross laterally) for at least 6 months.
I once had a 5th grade student who had to lay her head down when asked to simply identify a quantity of base ten blocks. This was an indication that she was very poorly integrated. I noticed one day that she was unable to do cross-lateral movements while standing. This is an exercise where one leg raises and the opposite hand, or elbow, touches the knee of the raised leg. I asked her to crawl on the mat and she was only able to do it homolaterally, which consists of moving forward the hand and leg from the same side of the body. Her mother later confirmed at a parent-teacher conference, that she never really crawled because she was always so anxious as a child, and thus was held until she was able to walk.
I notice that many of my struggling learners have mixed dominances and are often left-eyed. It can be inefficient to have a dominant eye, ear, and hand that a not on the same side as each other. “A child who is totally right-sided or totally left-sided has an easier time learning to read and write than one who constantly has to decide whether to pay attention to the messages coming from the right side of his body, or those coming from the left” (Gold, 2008 p. 133). Aside from hand, eye, ear, and foot, we are also hemisphere dominant and either use more of the right or left sides of our brain. In children who are more balanced, they will use both sides of their brain, but will be slightly dominant in one or the other. It is ideal to be dominant in the side that is controlling the dominant limbs. Some children, however, have been forced to write with the arm that was not destined to be their dominant one. When children are using the wrong hand for writing, their speech and language can be affected, (Pheloung & King, 1993).
Some individuals are working off of one hemisphere and unable to access the other. Their other hemisphere is in a way “turned off” and difficult to access, especially in a learning, or otherwise stressful situation. Some children may be all right-sided, but only accessing the right hemisphere, especially in times of stress. For some, they are in a constant state of stress, whether it be emotional or physical (from food intolerances, for example). If their right hand, ear, and eye is being controlled by the left hemisphere, but they are nearly exclusively right-brained, then in times of stress, they will be come overwhelmed and stuck and unable to access the hand, ear, and eye. “One side of the brain may not be given the opportunity to recognize it knows the answer or to communicate the relevant information to the other side of the brain. This is sometimes a problem in children diagnosed with ADD” (Goddard, 2005, p.49).
I have students who are clearly working exclusively off the right-side with a turned-off left hemisphere. These students are able to use reasoning to figure out problems, but it is the basic arithemetic, calculation, and symbolic notation that trips them up. They have decent estimation skills, but cannot remember their facts or procedures and make calculation errors. These are students that highly benefit from a calculator. On the other hand, if you gave students who are left-brain strong and right-brained weak a calculator, they might not know what to do to solve the problem. They most likely will do random things to numbers and not be able to determine the reasonableness of their answer. Individuals who are unable to access their right brains are also those who tend to struggle with geometry and other aspects of mathematics involving visual-spatial skills. They tend to be the hardest workers but unable to retain information.
If the corpus callosum is developed between 6 ½ and 8 years of age, then we need to teach differently in the early years than we do once children have been able to fully connect both sides of their brain. “Children who are doing really well in reading in the first few grades often fail after the third grade, because they have relied on the look see method, which is basically aimed at the right side of the brain. They may need to be taught to read all over again” (Gold, 2008, p. 134).
I had another 5th grade student, who exactly fell into this category. During conferences, my student’s parents could not understand why their child was struggling in school as much as he was. They claimed that he had absolutely no issues through the third grade, however in both language arts and mathematics he was severely struggling. It was clear that he only had access to his right-brain. He was able to able to access information through discussion, but could not put anything to writing. He was able to nicely solve math problems mentally through reasoning and estimation, but could not learn a procedure to save his life.
Ways to Enhance Bilateral Integration
The following integrative movements help students prepare for learning by activating both hemispheres and allowing them to work together, assisting in energy and blood flow, decreasing muscle tension, and stimulating and focusing the brain to improve concentration. Another important outcome of combining movements that cross the midline with those that stimulate the vestibular system is an improved spatial awareness (Lengel & Kuczala, 2010). A lack of spatial awareness can show up in “problems with reading, organization of written work, understanding abstract math concepts, and reproducing patterns and shapes,” (Lengel & Kuczala, 2010, p. 5). Researchers have discovered that Acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, was higher in rats trained on difficult spatial problems than in rats trained on simpler problems,” (Doidge, 2007, p. 43).
The following integrative movements help students prepare for learning by activating both hemispheres and allowing them to work together, assisting in energy and blood flow, decreasing muscle tension, and stimulating and focusing the brain to improve concentration. Another important outcome of combining movements that cross the midline with those that stimulate the vestibular system is an improved spatial awareness (Lengel & Kuczala, 2010). A lack of spatial awareness can show up in “problems with reading, organization of written work, understanding abstract math concepts, and reproducing patterns and shapes,” (Lengel & Kuczala, 2010, p. 5). Researchers have discovered that Acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, was higher in rats trained on difficult spatial problems than in rats trained on simpler problems,” (Doidge, 2007, p. 43).
Works Cited
Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain that Changes itself. NY: Penguin Group.
Goddard, S. (2005). Reflexes, learning and behavior: A window into the child’s mind. Eugene: Fern Ridge Press.
Goddard Blythe, S. (2009). Attention, balance, and coordination: The ABC of learning success. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell
Gold, S. (2008). If Children Came with Instruction Sheets. Eugene: Fern Ridge Press.
Lengel, T., & M. Kuczala. (2010). The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning through Movement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Oden, A. (2006). Ready Bodies Learning Minds.
Pheloung, B. (1997). Help your class to learn. New South Wales: Griffin Press
Pheloung, B., & J. King. (1993). Overcoming Learning Difficulties: How you can help a child who finds it hard to learn. NY: Doubleday.
Ratey, J. J. (2008). SPARK: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
The brain-movement connection. retrieved 2/5/13 from http://www.skillstrainer.co.k/stnews2/brain2.html
Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain that Changes itself. NY: Penguin Group.
Goddard, S. (2005). Reflexes, learning and behavior: A window into the child’s mind. Eugene: Fern Ridge Press.
Goddard Blythe, S. (2009). Attention, balance, and coordination: The ABC of learning success. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell
Gold, S. (2008). If Children Came with Instruction Sheets. Eugene: Fern Ridge Press.
Lengel, T., & M. Kuczala. (2010). The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning through Movement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Oden, A. (2006). Ready Bodies Learning Minds.
Pheloung, B. (1997). Help your class to learn. New South Wales: Griffin Press
Pheloung, B., & J. King. (1993). Overcoming Learning Difficulties: How you can help a child who finds it hard to learn. NY: Doubleday.
Ratey, J. J. (2008). SPARK: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
The brain-movement connection. retrieved 2/5/13 from http://www.skillstrainer.co.k/stnews2/brain2.html