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<\/a><\/p>\nIf, for example, you think that dual coding<\/strong> might be a good idea in your classroom, look for all the best evidence you can find\u00a0against<\/em> this theory.<\/p>\n Because you’ll find (a lot) more evidence in favor of dual coding than against, you can be confident as you go forward with your new approach.<\/p>\n Well: I got a dose of my own medicine today…<\/p>\n If you’re a regular reader, you know that I’m a summer camp guy. I’ve spent many of the happiest hours of my life hiking trails and canoeing lakes and building fires.<\/p>\n Many of the best people I know devote their summers to helping children discover their strengths and values surrounded by pines and paddles.<\/p>\n And: I’m not the only one. We’ve got LOTS of research showing that people prefer natural settings to urban ones. Some of that research shows this preference cross-culturally. It’s not just Rousseau-influenced Westerners who feel this way, but humans generally.<\/p>\n In fact, it’s easy to speculate about an evolutionary cause for this preference. Our species has been around for about 250,000 years; only a tiny fraction of that time has included substantial urban development.<\/p>\n If our preference for natural environments has an evolutionary base, then we would expect children to share it. They don’t need adult coaxing to enjoy the natural beauties to which their genes incline them.<\/p>\n Right?<\/p>\n If we’re going to follow the advice above — that is, if we’re going to seek out evidence at odds with our own beliefs — we might wonder: can we find research contradicting<\/em> this line of thought?<\/p>\n Can we find evidence that children prefer urban settings to rural ones? That they adopt adult preferences only slowly, as they age?<\/p>\nPeople Prefer Natural Settings. Right?<\/h2>\n
Trying to Prove Ourselves Wrong<\/h2>\n