Several myths exist in education. If you are a parent or teacher, chances are you have heard of one of these myths. It is possible that you have accepted these as true. This month’s article aims to identify and explain some of the common myths that exist within education.
- Left-Brain vs Right-Brain:
- Proponents of the left-brain versus right brain concept of learning believe that people are either left or right brain learners. According to this myth, right- brainers are more spatially oriented and left-brainers are more language oriented. Although people have individual cognitive strengths, it is overly simplistic to conceptualize learner differences as such. The two hemispheres of the brain are interconnected and learning processes are the result of establishing and reinforcing complex neural networks. Simply stated, we are not like dolphins who can put half their brains to sleep.
- Learning Styles:
- The idea of learning styles was first proposed in the 1980s. It’s an appealing concept because it categorizes people into different types of learners according to their strongest sense. You may have heard people describe themselves as visual, auditory, or even kinesthetic learners. The truth is that this idea has been identified as inaccurate over thirty years ago.
- The idea of learning styles is based on the truth that people have strengths and weaknesses within their learning profile. However, reducing a person’s learning to a single modality has been proven to be overly simplistic and pure nonsense.
- A better way to understand learning is to recognize that multi-sensory experiences create stronger and longer lasting neural connections.
- Whole-Word Reading Instruction:
- Whole-word reading instruction has been shown to be an ineffective way to teach children to read. It was thought that children would naturally gain decoding skills by being exposed to words regularly. Although it is true that people learn to recognize words quickly with practice, the best practice for reading instruction is to use a phonological-based approach.
- Student Laziness:
- Too often is poor student performance attributed to lack of effort before fully understanding what is impeding children from succeeding at school. This is potentially one of the most dangerous myths in education as it often results in neglecting a student difficulty, whether it be social, emotional, academic, behavioural, or personal.
- The Saving Power of Technology:
- Often times teachers are encouraged to “integrate technology” into the classroom. Although technology and the Internet provides teachers with more options to make lessons interesting and effective, we must not fall into the trap of regarding technology as the solution to the challenges that teachers face in the classroom.
TAKE HOME
There are a number of myths that persist within education. It might be said that they are common because they provide convenient explanations for why students have difficulty and even more convenient solutions for addressing those difficulties. Educators have a responsibility to share accurate information and engage in best practices. We owe that to ourselves and our students.
Check back for the follow-up post on how to stay informed regarding evidence-based practices!
If you want to read more on any of the above topics, please consult the resources below.
Finally, if you found this article helpful, make sure to follow @HealthyMTL on Twitter or on Facebook.
RESOURCES
- Seven Myths in Education by Daisy Christodoulou is a quick read highlighting some of the current misconceptions in education that stem from misunderstanding the importance of fact-based learning.
- Edutopia has an interesting article addressing eight additional myths in education. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/myths-that-undermine-educational-effectiveness-mark-phillips
- Evidence-Based Teaching has an article that addresses 6 myths in education that includes references to research articles and serves as an intro to their free crash course on evidence-based teaching practices. https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/crash-course-evidence-based-teaching/6-misleading-myths-education/
Healthy Learning MTL 