Using the Whole Brain in Teaching Economics

Abstract

Whenever anyone sets out to construct lesson plans of any kind, there is a risk that no one will ever take the time to use them. Knowing this, and willing to change that it will be only me that uses them, I nonetheless make them available for any person interested. I have written five (5) lesson plans on the teaching of economics. Within each lesson, two major themes arise. Firstly, each lesson contains material to enhance learning by using both the right and the left hemispheres of the brain—the whole brain. A good deal of research has indicated that indeed the two hemispheres need to be tapped, while in most situations learning has been geared towards “left-brain” learners. The jury is still out on the definitive nature of this research but we all know that different students learn differently and these lesson plans make some effort at trying to reach the optimum learning level for not just one type of student, but many. That does sound like a big order, but I think you will see, by varying the method of teaching enough to use the whole brain, many more students will benefit. Secondly, knowing all too well how the teaching of economics is a very difficult task, I have decided to use a textbook that will make the teaching and the learning of economics all the more tolerable. The book is Economics Explained by Robert Heilbroner. This book is readable and enjoyable. Students will be able to comprehend more material from this book than most textbooks because it does not read like a textbook. The lessons may be implemented without using the text but with less success. The layout of the lesson is modeled after a paper presented by John L. Lodge for his Master’s Degree in Education. On the following page you will see a diagram of the 4-MAT system devised by B. McCarthy (1980). Each lesson will have eight (8) steps directed to a specific section of the braid. By organization and structuring each lesson in this manner, you will not only be better able to judge the model’s validity, but also you will be set with a consistent unit study plan on economics. I am confident that using the whole brain in lesson planning is the only way to go because it opens the way for more students. After you use one or two of these lesson plans, you might find yourself teaching your other subjects with this model in mind. Use of this model will not bring Utopia, a feeling of Shangri-La, or “sudden enlightenment”, but it is a start towards meeting the needs of more students.