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- MERIEM on How Learning Happens: Seminal Works in Educational Psychology and What They Mean in Practice by Paul Kirschner and Carl Hendrick
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Tag Archives: neuromyths
Understanding (False) Learning Styles Beliefs
When people say they “believe in learning styles,” what exactly do they mean? Recent research helps answer that question…and thereby offers strategies for helping change their minds. Continue reading
Why Do “Learning Styles” Theories Persist? [Updated 6-7-19]
We’re still trying to understand why learning styles theory — although widely debunked — still persists. Could it be because schools of education still support it? Continue reading
Right Brained Language Learning (And Other Reasons to Ignore Brain Myths)
Recent research shows that right-hemisphere brain activity predicts successful language learning. For that reason (and many others), we shouldn’t think about “right-brain” or “left-brain” mental functions. Continue reading
Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me
We often post about the unreliability of “brain training.” Heck, even though I live in Boston and am a Patriots fan, I made fun of Tom Brady’s website claiming to “increase brain speed” and other such nonsense. (I don’t even
You Are a Learning Style of One
Many educational fads ask teachers to sort our students into false learning categories: by learning style, for example, or by gender. Instead, we should focus on cognitive processes — like memory and attention — that apply to all our students. As learners we can’t be categorized, but we’re more alike than different. Continue reading
Can You Resist the Seductive Allure of Neuroscience?
The seductive allure of neuroscience often blinds us. In fact, the image on the right shows the part of the brain — the focal geniculative nucleus — that lights up when we’re taken in by false neuroscience information. Ok, no
Don’t Be Fooled by the Learning Pyramid Myth
The problem with the pyramid is not merely that it’s inaccurate, but that it’s incoherent.
The important lesson here goes beyond “always check the sources.” Instead, the point is “always check specific claims.”
Continue reading
Foolish “Brain Training” Flim-Flam of the Day
Tom Brady’s new “Brain Training” Website looks a lot like earlier attempts to over-hype thinly supported brain research. Don’t fall for it. Continue reading
Brain Training and Dementia
When you see claims for an exciting new brain training finding (the headline crows “Dementia Breakthrough? Brain training game ‘significantly reduces risk’ “), you can expect to see the skeptics respond very quickly. As the Guardian reports, the study didn’t
Finding Meaning in Visuals
When you open your eyes, where do they focus? Presumably, your eyes automatically turn to the part of the visual field that stands out the most: the bright red door, the tower jutting up from the cliff, the sharp angle