Using both the left and right brain to top college entrance tests

MANILA, Philippines - Bananas, tomatoes and dalanghita don’t usually have a place in review class for high school students hoping to be accepted into the country’s top universities. But using fruits to teach youngsters trying to solve for “x” in the process of mastering algebra just seemed to be the more effective way for some, according to John Lambino, founder of the Newton Study Center.

After a decade of successfully coaching students on how to excel in the entrance exams of the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University and other prestigious schools, Lambino is convinced that equations and other abstractions can be more quickly learned with the aid of tangible objects.

He remembers that as a Philippine Science High School student, he himself would grapple with theories and principles until he could visualize them or relate them to tangible, everyday realities. Thus, after he finished his bachelor’s degree at Kyoto University in Japan, it was natural for him to incorporate that way of thinking into the review materials he first wrote for the Dagupan high school students he was tutoring for college entrance exams in Manila. By the time Lambino opened the Newton Study Center at Loyola Heights in Quezon City in 2003, the visual and interactive approach to teaching had been incorporated into a series of review books and well-attended learning sessions. Today, there are other Newton Study Centers at West Avenue, Quezon City; Sucat, Paranaque; and Urdaneta, Pangasinan, in addition to the original Dagupan center.

Lambino’s approach is based on the learning theory that individuals tend to favor either the left or right hemisphere of the brain. The left-brained have a penchant for numbers, logical sequencing, analysis, classifying and arranging and tend to excel in school where the emphasis is usually placed on these abilities. On the other hand, right brainers are apt to use images, visual patterns and favor spatial thinking, daydreaming and seeing the whole rather than focusing on parts.

Scientists have further classified left brainers into analysts who like to deal with facts, quantitative data and logic, and the more structured and detailed bureaucrats and accountants who revel in discipline, order, obeying rules and consistency. Right-brainers are further divided into creative types who are intuitive, imaginative, and dream a lot; and the people persons who are highly sensory and tend to focus on relationships, emotions and upholding causes.

Most teaching methods, however, rely heavily on left-brain analysis, rules, logical and critical thinking to the detriment of creative and people-oriented youngsters. In response, Newton Study Center makes it a point to incorporate visuals, what-if scenarios and other situations that appeal to right-brainers. It also favors young instructors who are passionate about learning and can connect to all adolescents — whatever part of the brain they favor, says Lambino, who is currently pursuing a doctorate in regional economics at Kyoto University.

His wife, Ria, who is also pursuing a master’s degree in global environmental studies at the same university, discloses that instructors who are funny and humorous are likewise highly valued in this review center for their ability to keep students engaged. “When students are at ease and having fun, learning happens more quickly,” says Ria, who was among the top 50 placers in the 1991 University of the Philippines College Admission Test and among the top 30 in the Ateneo College Entrance Test the same year. She chose to enroll in UP.

Newton Study Center also requires hard work from the kids in an effort to transform them into sharp thinkers and not information hoarders. Drills are timed and built into the review process so students get used to pressure. They are also given an arsenal of inferences, shortcuts, mnemonics and other techniques to help them find the right answers fast.

Ria explains that most entrance exams are standardized tests that subject the student to selecting the best answer from multiple choices. Newton thus veers away from dwelling too much on complete and structured solutions. “Instead students learn how to quickly rule out the obviously wrong answers and pay attention to the more likely answers.”

The high number of Newton enrollees who make it to coveted schools like Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines and De La Salle University, is also attributable to the training material and practice tests, which are constantly updated.

As the population of college-age kids increases along with the population in general, competition for slots in the top universities is likely to get fiercer. Says John, “It can only get tougher over time. Whatever part of the brain they favor, kids need every advantage they can get to get a good university education. There is no substitute for a good review school that will prepare them for the pressures to get into good schools.”

For more details, call 0917-991-3310 or 426-9571 in Metro Manila, 075-522-5780 in Pangasinan or visit www.NewtonStudyCenter.com.