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- sue happs on Warning: Misguided Neuroscience Ahead
- The Teacher Treasury on Decorating the Classroom: How Much Is Too Much?
- Walking Promotes Creativity? A Skeptic Weighs In... |Education & Teacher Conferences on The Goldilocks Map by Andrew Watson
- Josephine Cooper on The Bruce Willis Method: Catching Up Post-Covid [Reposted]
- Andrew Watson on The Unexpected Problem with Learning Styles Theory
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Tag Archives: neuromyths
Warning: Misguided Neuroscience Ahead
I recently ran across a version* of this chart: As you can see, this chart lists several neurotransmitters and makes recommendations based on their purported roles. If you want to feel love, you should increase oxytocin. To do so, play
The Unexpected Problem with Learning Styles Theory
I recently read a much-liked Twitter post that said (I’m paraphrasing here): If you try to debunk Learning Styles Theory and you face unexpected resistance, start looking for the profit motive. Hmmm. To be clear: learning styles theory just doesn’t
A Little Help, Please…
I’ve got a problem, and I’m hoping you can help me. Here’s the situation… I work as a high school English teacher. And I’m also a consultant – presenting psychology and neuroscience research for teachers and students and parents. In
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