This week’s article summary You
Probably Believe Some Learning Myths. (Click on the link and take the 7
question quiz.)
Many of us--and certainly parents--hold onto beliefs about how
children learn even after they’ve been debunked by research.
It’s tough to unlearn beliefs as we all have a tendency to ignore
new information that contradicts what we think (this is called ‘confirmation
bias’). As an example, even though research has disproved Howard Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligences theory, a good friend of mine continues to use
multiple intelligences as the centerpiece of his school’s curriculum—to delight
of both faculty and parents.
The article below explains that myths in education persist because
they often seem to be intuitively right, what the author refers to as the
‘Flat-Earth’ syndrome: if it seems right, makes sense, and my experiences
appear to confirm it, then it must be true.
I’m guessing you will answer most of the quiz questions correctly,
as Trinity does an excellent job of staying abreast of current educational
research.
Still, the big idea of this article is that we all can fall prey
to stereotypes and ideas we think optimize student learning, and, as such, we
always need to remain open to new ideas and different ways of doing
things.
Joe
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This blog post has some pretty useful
information. So print it out; get out your highlighter and take off the cap.
Ready?
Now throw it away, because highlighters don't really help
people learn.
Ulrich
Boser says, probably not very well. His new research on learning shows that the
public is largely ignorant of, well, research on learning. Boser runs the
science of learning initiative at the Center for American Progress.
He recently surveyed a
representative sample of more than 3,000 Americans to test
their beliefs about common learning myths.
"We
wanted to document this gap between public perception and good practice,"
he told NPR Ed. "In our paper we call it the, 'Been there, done that'
problem. People went to school, so they have a feeling they know what good
teaching looks like.”
But
in fact, public opinion diverges from reality.
Here
are some of the most striking results:
Close
to 90 percent of Boser's respondents agreed that students should receive
information in their own "learning style." The idea that individuals
have different learning styles, such as auditory or kinesthetic, is a pernicious myth. Boser
compares it to the flat-earth myth — highly
intuitive, but wrong. Even the U.S. Department of Education sent out an email
just this week encouraging teachers to "make [their] own call on how to
utilize learning styles in the classroom." One major recent review of
research, among many others, stated that the authors "found virtually no
evidence" for the idea.
Almost 90 percent of
respondents agreed that simply re-reading material is "highly
effective" for learning. Research suggests the opposite.
71 percent of
respondents indicated that teachers should motivate students by praising them
"for being smart." A large body of research by Carol Dweck and others suggests that this kind of praise is
countereffective. Praising effort, rather than ability, is far more likely to
motivate students to work hard and improve.
On the topic of
"growth mindset," more than one-quarter of respondents believed
intelligence is "fixed at birth". Neuroscience says otherwise.
Nearly 60 percent argued
that quizzes are not an effective way to gain new skills and knowledge. In
fact, quizzing yourself on something you've just read is a great example of active learning, the best way to learn.
More than 40 percent of
respondents believed that teachers don't need to know a subject area such as
math or science, as long as they have good instructional skills. In fact,
research shows that deep subject matter expertise is a key element in helping teachers excel.
And finally, despite
their overall poor showing, more than 75 percent of respondents considered
themselves "above average" in their ability to judge the work that
teachers do. This last finding, which could be called the confidence gap,
really matters for the education kids are getting, Boser argues. "It helps
explain why teaching has been so devalued for a long time. We see that in how
teachers get paid and treated." Public schools, in particular, are
governed by school boards often composed of non-educators. They are subject to
pressure from parents, too. "Parents' opinions are important, but teaching
is a real craft," Boser says. "A lot of science goes into it. And we
need to do more to respect that." If the public doesn't understand what
active learning looks like, he adds, or why growth mindset is important, then
schools may be pushed in the wrong direction.
