Thinking Styles Herrmann’s
Creative Brain
Playing the Diversity Game
(Cognitive preferences)
WikiVet Workshop, LIVE Centre
31st July 2007
Thanks to Julia Atkin for input
(www.learning-by-design.com)
Herrmann’s Creative Brain model
• Concerned with “ways of knowing”
• ‘Left-brainers’ and ‘right-brainers’
“For people whose
preferred mode of
knowing is visual, what
is presented in pictures
will get through to them
better than a lecture or
book with text only”
(Herrmann 1989)
The Brain - right versus left
Left mode
processing
Right mode
processing
• serial/sequential
• focal/convergent
• verbal/symbolic
• logical/analytical
• parallel/simultaneous
• diffuse/divergent
• image/spatial
• intuitive/holistic
the wood
© Julia Atkin, 2007
The Brain - cerebral versus limbic
neocortex
Neocortex - conceptual,
cerebral, reasoning
“thinking cap”
limbic system
reptilian
MacLean’s
Triune Brain
Limbic - emotional,
registers rewards &
punishments, controls
ANS (fight or flight)
Reptilian - instinctive,
most ancient part of
the brain
Herrmann’s Creative Brain model
• Some rules …
– No cognitive preference is better than
another
• “Every [one] brings critically important
contributions to living and working”
– Not a measure of intelligence
• “The [model] is a metaphor describing
how a person prefers to acquire and
process information, not how fast or
accurately they do it.”
– Over 90% of people have >1 preference
– “Profiles tend to remain constant, but they
can and do change.”
The Diversity Game
• Arrange your five cards in order,
starting with the card that best
describes yourself, and ending with
the one that is least like you …
• What was your immediate response
to the cards that were dealt?
• Would you be comfortable finishing
the game with these cards?
The Diversity Game
• Move around the other players and
trade cards to “improve” your hand ...
• Were there any noticeable patterns in
the kinds of cards other players
wanted to keep and those they were
willing to trade?
• What might patterns suggest about
the preferences of the group?
The Diversity Game
• Discard your two least preferred
cards …
• What reaction did you have when
you had to give up two cards?
The Diversity Game
• Examine all the discarded cards and
make any exchanges you want to …
• Were those choices easy or difficult?
• Were you able to put together a
hand that closely represented you?
The Diversity Game
• Remember a personal story to
share with the group that
illustrates a time when all three of
the qualities in your hand came
into play and influenced your
behaviour …
• Does your story reflect the way
you are much of the time?
© Ned Herrmann, The Creative Brain, 1989
Takes preventative action
Is task focussed
Likes to know the facts
Establishes procedures
Gets things done
Is reliable
Organises
Is punctual
Is neat
Plans
B
ORDERED,
SAFEKEEPING SELF
Is spontaneous
Is sensitive to others
Is intuitive (feelings)
Likes to teach
Is supportive
Is expressive
Is cooperative
Is emotional
Talks a lot
Feels/flows
C
EMOTIONAL,
INTERPERSONAL SELF
© Julia Atkin, 2007
© Ned Herrmann, The Creative Brain, 1989
“If a learner is
highly inclined
towards one mode
of processing … he
or she will tend to
approach tasks in
that mode even
when it’s not the
more appropriate.”
Communication & Learning
Likes & Expectations
“Learning
requires moving
outside our
comfort zone.”
(Atkin 2000)
(Atkin 2000)
© Julia Atkin, 2007
Discuss …
• Can we use this model as a basis
for collaborative work with WikiVet?
– To facilitate teamwork?
– As a model for learners?