Hemispheric Brain Dominance and Mathematics Performance of Western Visayas College of Science and Technology Students - Phase III

Author(s):  
Doly Joy Celindro ◽  
◽  
Belinda Go
2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 111-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda M. Go ◽  
Doly Joy C. Celindro

This is the last phase of a four-year study which aimed to determine the significance of the difference in the mathematics (math) performance of the participants when grouped according to their hemispheric dominance (HD). The study was anchored in the Split-Brain or Lateralization Theory of Roger Wolcott Sperry which states that the brain is divided into two hemispheres, the left, and the right hemisphere. The participants were eighty-eight (88) fourth-year college students from the courses of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (BSM), Bachelor of Science in Education major in Mathematics (BSEd), Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE), Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communication Engineering (BSECE), and Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering major in Automotive Engineering (BSMEAE) at Western Visayas College of Science and Technology SY 2014-2015. The participants’ HD was determined by the use of a researcher-made 46-item Hemispheric Brain Dominance Test while their mathematics performance was based on their Math classes average final grades. The statistical tools used were the mean, standard deviation, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Post hoc tests. The hypothesis was set at the 0.05 alpha level. As an entire group, the left brain was the dominant brain hemisphere among the participants from phase I to phase IV. When the participants were grouped according to program in phase I, the BSM, BSEd, and BSMEAE was left-brain dominant while the BSEE participants were right-brain dominant. The BSECE had an equal number of left-brained and right-brained participants. In phase II, the dominant brain hemisphere was the left brain. Only the BSEE participants were right-brain dominant. In phase III, the dominant brain hemisphere was the left brain, except for the BSMEAE where there was an equal number of left-brained and right-brained participants. In phase IV, all participants from the different programs were left-brained. Only the BSEE participants were right-brain dominant. As an entire group, phase I and II participants had “fair” mathematics performance; phase III had “good” mathematics performance, and phase IV had “very good” mathematics performance. When the participants who were right-brained were grouped according to mathematics performance, phase I had “conditional” mathematics performance; phase II and III had “fair” mathematics performance; and phase IV had “good” mathematics performance. Those who were left-brain dominant had “fair” mathematics performance in phase I, “good” mathematics performance in phase II and III, and “very good” mathematics performance in phase IV. In all phases of the study, significant differences existed in the level of mathematics performance when the participants were grouped according to their hemispheric brain dominance. The “left-brained” performed better in mathematics than the “right-brained”. There was a significant decrease in the enrolment of participants who were right-brain dominant because they shifted to other courses or they transferred to other schools. In phases, I, II and III, significant differences existed in the level of mathematics performance when the participants were grouped according to their program. There is no significant difference in the hemispheric brain dominance of the participants when grouped according to the phase of the study. This implies that the slight changes in the hemispheric brain dominance of the participants were not significant in the last four years.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 154-162
Author(s):  
Doly Joy C. Celindro ◽  
Belinda M. Go

This study was anchored in the Split-Brain or Lateralization Theory of Roger Wolcott Sperry which states that the brain is divided into two hemispheres, the left hemisphere, and the right hemisphere. This was conducted to determine the significance of the difference in the mathematics(math) performance of the participants when they were grouped according to their hemispheric dominance (HD) and program. There were 172 first-year participants of Western Visayas College of Science and Technology, Iloilo City in phase I (SY 2011-2012). This was reduced to 120 participants in phase II (SY 2012-2013) and to 88 participants in phase III (SY 2013-2014). The participants’ HD was determined by the use of a researcher-made 46-item Hemispheric Brain Dominance Test while their mathematics performance was based on their average final grades in their Math classes. The statistical tools used were the mean, standard deviation, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Post hoc tests. The test in the hypothesis was set at .05 alpha level. Results showed that as an entire group, the left brain was the dominant brain hemisphere among the participants in phases I, II and III. In phase I and II, the participants had “fair” mathematics performance while phase III had “good” mathematics performance. When the participants were grouped according to their hemispheric dominance in phase I, the participants who were right-brain dominant had “conditional” mathematics performance while in phase II and III, they had “fair” mathematics performance. Those which were left-brain dominant in phase I had “fair” mathematics performance while in phase II and III, they had “good” mathematics performance. In phases, I, II and III of the study, significant differences existed in the level of mathematics performance when the participants were grouped according to their hemispheric brain dominance. The left brain dominant participants performed better in their mathematics performance than the right brain dominant participants. In phases, I, II and III, significant differences existed in the level of mathematics performance when the participants were grouped according to their program. The Post hoc (Scheffe) test results showed that BS Math significantly differs in their math performance from BSECE and BSMEAE participants. Furthermore, BSECE significantly differs in their math performance from BSEd and BSMEAE participants. Also, BSMEAE significantly differs from BSEE and BSEd participants in their math performance. There is no significant difference in the hemispheric brain dominance of the participants when they were grouped according to the phase of the study. This implies that the hemispheric brain dominance of the participants did not change for the last three years. It is highly recommended to administrators and guidance counselors to assess the brain dominance of the incoming freshmen and give priority to left-brained students for Math-laden courses. More researches should be conducted in different subjects, programs, and backgrounds to add support to this study.


Author(s):  
Annette Hessen Bjerke ◽  
Bjørn Smestad ◽  
Elisabeta Eriksen ◽  
André Rognes

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 460-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin L. Van Dijk ◽  
Renate H.M. De Groot ◽  
Hans H.C.M. Savelberg ◽  
Frederik Van Acker ◽  
Paul A. Kirschner

The main goal of this study was to investigate the association between objectively measured physical activity and academic achievement in adolescents. Students in Grades 7 and 9 (N = 255) were included. Overall, we found no significant dose–response association between physical activity and academic achievement. However, in Grade 7 total physical activity volume (Total PA) was negatively associated with academic achievement, while moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was negatively associated with both academic achievement and mathematics performance. In contrast, in Grade 9 both Total PA and MVPA were positively associated with mathematics performance. In addition, the overall association between MVPA and academic achievement followed an inverted U-shaped curve. Finally, Total PA was positively associated with executive functioning, while executive functioning in turn mediated the associations between Total PA and both academic achievement and mathematics performance. These results indicate that the association between physical activity and academic achievement in adolescents is complex and might be affected by academic year, physical activity volume and intensity, and school grade.


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