Papers by Benerdeta Malusi
African Journal of Chemical Education, 2014
Previous research on left-handedness has mainly taken place in developed countries. This study ai... more Previous research on left-handedness has mainly taken place in developed countries. This study aimed at investigating the challenges left-handed students faced in secondary school laboratories and how well they coped with the challenges in Kenya. It also sought to find out whether teachers were aware of the challenges and what help if nay they gave the students. The participants were five left-handed science students and their respective subject teachers from a girls’ school in Kenya. The students were enrolled in practical subjects: Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Computer studies and Home science. Qualitative data was collected through classroom observations, individual and group discussions Data revealed that left-handed students experienced challenges generally in school and specifically during practical work. These challenges resulted mainly from having to write left-to right (handwriting), unfavorable sitting positions in uncomfortable desks, handling and manipulating of some app...
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Left-handed people represent about 10% of any random population. In the recent past, left-handers... more Left-handed people represent about 10% of any random population. In the recent past, left-handers are known to have they experienced challenges when functioning with the left hand was strictly forbidden. They are likely to do so even today. Every day use tools ranging from simple objects to dangerous machinery are largely designed for use by the right-handed for the right handed. This makes their handling and use challenging for left-handers’. Cross-sectional studies have found significantly enhanced left-hander frequencies among elite athletes exclusively in interactive sports, boxing and music. In order to succeed, professional musicians have been found to adapt to right handed instruments. They also have to conform to the standard playing position of the right handed. Although scientific and popular literature has reported that left-handers are over-represented among populations of creative artists (Preti & Vellante, 2007) and architects (Peterson & Lansky, 1977), left-handed chi...
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African Journal of Chemical Education, 2015
Research into left-handedness concurs that generally, left-handed people experience difficulties ... more Research into left-handedness concurs that generally, left-handed people experience difficulties manipulating right handed tools. Specifically, left-handers face challenges associated with right handed instructional resources because of their inherent peculiarities due to their hand orientation in science classrooms. There is evidence for a general cognitive disadvantage for lefthanders compared to right-handers according to recent research. Studies have explicitly shown that left-handed learners are disadvantaged when using mismatched instructional resources that are generally ‘ungraspable’, and more so during chemistry laboratory timed tasks. Whereas the importance of practical work in science cannot be ignored based on its significance to learning school science, adaptations left-handers have to make so as to fit with right handed instructional resources gets in the way of their learning. A persistent failure to effectively interact with the resources fluidly lowers learners’ sel...
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Left-handed people represent about 10% of any random population. In the recent past, left-handers... more Left-handed people represent about 10% of any random population. In the recent past, left-handers are known to have they experienced challenges when functioning with the left hand was strictly forbidden. They are likely to do so even today. Every day use tools ranging from simple objects to dangerous machinery are largely designed for use by the right-handed for the right handed. This makes their handling and use challenging for left-handers'. Cross-sectional studies have found significantly enhanced left-hander frequencies among elite athletes exclusively in interactive sports, boxing and music. In order to succeed, professional musicians have been found to adapt to right handed instruments. They also have to conform to the standard playing position of the right handed. Although scientific and popular literature has reported that left-handers are over-represented among populations of creative artists (Preti & Vellante, 2007) and architects (Peterson & Lansky, 1977), left-handed children experience more learning difficulties in script techniques, handicrafts and art at primary level compared to their right-handed peers. Further, research has established that there exists a cognitive disadvantage for left-handed school children compared to the right-handed (McManus, 1997). Similar studies into left-handedness also concur that left-handed children experience difficulties in school mainly because of their inherent peculiarities caused by their hand orientation (Kula, 2008; Malusi, 2014). In the classroom, studies have established that left-handed learners are adversely affected in a negative way. A mismatch between a learners' physiology, more general cognitive abilities and the level of expertise has been shown to cause challenges in the learning process. These mismatches range from the use of desks and sitting positions to using instructional resources intrinsically meant for the right handed. When using such tools, a left-hander will either learn to use the tool right handed (awkward and inefficient at best) or somehow learns to hold the tool backwards so that it can be manipulated with the left hand (often clumsy). When undertaking activities that require precision and speed, left-handers are expected to perform at the same speed as their right-handed peers since Kenya, like many other countries in the world does not recognize left-handedness as a special learning need. This review paper seeks to establish that left-handedness is a special learning need that ought to be given a special consideration in line with other behavioral and physical impairments that influence learners' ability to learn effectively.
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Papers by Benerdeta Malusi