What are neuromyths?
Public interest in brain research has increased over the past decade. As we learn more about how the brain works, we can better understand its implications in everyday life. Importantly, what we learn about the brain can have a bearing on teaching and learning, since the brain plays an essential role in both. There is unfortunately a tendency for brain research to be misunderstood, misinterpreted, and overstated. We call these misconceptions neuromyths.
Where do neuromyths come from?
Neuromyths have been around for a while; however, while they may sound plausible and rational, their origin is often difficult to track, and they lack any degree of credibility. This is because they include unsubstantiated claims about interventions or products that lack the backing of scientific validity. However, despite growing scientific evidence that actively disproves them, neuromyths continue to persist.
Why do neuromyths persist?
The human brain has long fascinated and intrigued people. Neuromyths are thus supported by certain cultural conditions, such as the transmission of bits of knowledge about the brain and the hunger for brain news – but also have deeper cognitive origins (Pasquinelli, 2012). We believe news items or articles in part because they tend to embellish the story by inserting a few factually correct or commonly accepted ideas that aren’t truly essential to the topic, giving the impression that the content is reliable. The issue here is that people who are not trained or who do not have the background knowledge in brain science may misinterpret these articles and accept the information presented to them. Another reason why neuromyths persist is because they are believable. As mentioned, many myths stem from valid scientific discoveries that were subsequently discovered to be incorrect, implying that they were formerly supported by facts and so were deemed to be credible. These false beliefs are circulated through social media, news articles, movies, other media, ‘brain games’, and the educational setting, amongst many others. A study has shown that simply putting a brain fMRI scan or words such as ‘brain’, ‘brain-based’ or ‘neuro-‘, and other related words in the title or content of a fake educational product, will arouse consumer interest and make them think the product is valuable (Lindell & Kidd, 2013). There are also numerous studies (Simmonds, 2014; Macdonald et al., 2017; Dekker & Kim, 2022) that show the prevalence and persistence of neuromyths among educators, the general public, and even among those with formal tertiary or graduate training in neuroscience.
What are these neuromyths in education?
Here are examples of some popular neuromyths:
1. Only 10% of our brains is used
2. Left-brain vs right-brain
3. Intelligence is fixed – you’re either born smart or not!
4. Multi-tasking can be efficient
5. When we sleep, the brain shuts down
6. Children’s cognitive abilities are increased by listening to classical music
7. When children reach puberty, their brain development is complete
8. Girls and boys have different cognitive abilities
Eliminating the Myths
Neuroscience will continue to inform and influence the educational field in the coming years, where it can help teachers to address problems in their classrooms in a scientific manner (Howard-Jones, 2014). Indeed, more and more efforts are being made to improve communication between the fields of neuroscience and education, which Howard-Jones (2014) upholds as requiring the use of a common vocabulary to prevent misunderstandings that can lead to neuromyths. The integration of neuroscience into both professional development and education is thus fundamental to the elimination of neuromyths associated with learning. Knowledge of brain science will enable educators to be cautious about interventions supposedly backed up by research, and to use neuroscientific research to transform their classrooms. It is in our students’ best interest for education stakeholders to evaluate research based on our growing understanding of how the brain learns. Let’s examine closely the study findings based on well-substantiated neuroscience research about strategies or methods that will positively impact student learning outcomes. These research studies will aid in dispelling persistent neuromyths and revealing avenues to better education.
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https://www.facebook.com/eduneurosciencehub
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-galea-b70b2224/
References
Dekker, H.D. & Kim, J.A. (2022). Mechanisms of Propagation and Factors Contributing to Beliefs in Neuromyths. In: Robinson, D.H., Yan, V.X., Kim, J.A. (eds) Learning Styles, Classroom Instruction, and Student Achievement. Monographs in the Psychology of Education. Springer, Cham.
Howard-Jones, P. (2014). Neuroscience and Education: Myths and messages. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Vol. 15(12), pp. 1 – 7.
Lindell, A. K. & Kidd, E. (2013). Consumers Favour ‘Right Brain’ Training: The Dangerous Lure of Neuromarketing. Mind, Brain and Education, Vol. 7 (1), pp. 35 – 39.
McDonald, K. Germine, L., Anderson, A. Christodoulou, J. & Mcgrath, L. M. (2017). Dispelling the Myth: Training in Education or Neuroscience Decreases but Does Not Eliminate Beliefs in Neuromyths, Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 8, pp. 1-16.
Pasquinelli, E. (2012). Neuromyths: Why do they exist and persist? Mind, Brain and Education, Vol. 6(2), pp. 89 – 95.
Simmonds, A. (2014). How Neuroscience is Affecting Education: Report of Teacher and Parent Surveys. Wellcome Trust.