Discerning Educational Myths From Facts

The reading this week tested whether university faculty members can discern educational myths from facts – it is gold. It found that while professors could identify effective strategies, many also believed in debunked myths. Hilariously, they felt more confident about their teaching expertise even when their beliefs differed from cognitive science. People who were wrong were more confident that they were right.

Key points

• At its core, good teaching depends primarily on the teacher’s content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. PhD programs train and produce content experts and not good teachers.
• Faculty across all disciplines correctly recognised effective practices.
• A substantial proportion of faculty also endorsed the myths.
• The researchers argue this may stem from an undifferentiated view of pedagogy: a tendency to regard all well-intentioned strategies as equally valid, rather than critically assessing their scientific basis.
• One of the most striking findings was that faculty from colleges of education, which specialise in teaching and learning, did not score better than faculty in other departments
• Graduate programs should teach their students about learning science and cognitive psychology, ensuring that future instructors understand the science behind effective teaching.

Kirschner sums up the issue perfectly here:  If education professors themselves can’t distinguish between myths and truths, they risk passing on this misinformation to generations of K-12 teachers, administrators, and policy makers. This not only perpetuates ineffective practices in schools but also damages the credibility of the education profession itself.

Read the full article.

Also, test yourself. Can you identify the myths? Five of the strategies below are evidence-informed to help students learn, and five have been debunked.

Pick the five myths

1. Learning styles (e.g., visual, auditory, kinaesthetic)
2. Retrieval practice (aka the testing effect)
3. Pure discovery learning
4. Extrinsic motivation (e.g., rewards and punishments)
5. Spacing practice over time
6. Direct (explicit) instruction
7. Digital natives (the idea that younger generations learn better through technology)
8. Dual coding (combining words and visuals)
9. Summarisation
10. Multitasking

Solutions are below the email signature.

Happy coaching.

Kind regards
Mark

Solutions: Debunked – 1, 3, 4, 7, 10.

Upcoming events

• 29 August – Wellington College NZ: Improving the Behaviour and Engagement of Boys
• 3-5 September – BGS Crowther Centre with Growth Coaching International: The Impact Cycle in Action
• 5 September – A Learner’s Toolkit: Anglican Church Grammar School QLD: A Matter of Translation
• 5-7 October – Instructional Coaching Group: Teaching Learning Coaching Conference (Arizona, USA)