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The myths of training

What is the most insidious belief for learning?

Steve Wheeler, Learning Innovations Consultant and Associate Professor of Educational Technologies at the Plymouth Institute of Education, published a survey on Twitter asking: "Which myth is the most harmful to learning?".
Before discovering the results, let's see together what is the reason that led him to launch the singular survey:

"I am constantly amazed by the persistence of “legendary beasts" in training" explains Wheeler. "I call them this way because they are like unicorns: they look extraordinary, but they do not exist and believing in them has no other purpose than to make us look foolish. I would like to understand why they are so resilient. Some education myths are about the nature of learning, others are about the role of teachers or technology and there are several questionable theories concerning human learning. Many myths become so famous and common as to be disguised as "science." An example is the expression "digital natives". "

Myth # 1: Learning styles (31% of poll votes)

"There are theories so persistent that, despite having been denied or declared obsolete, still continue to guide the training and work practice, sometimes the teachers are not updated, other times they consider only the theory that best fits and confirms what they believe For example, the idea of learning styles: classifying students as "auditory" or "visual" seems intuitive and convenient, as it allows teachers to group students and manage them in the most efficient way. There is no such reality in learning: according to psychologists there is no scientific evidence about it. People learn in many different ways, mixing auditory, visual, kinesthetic, tactile, proprioceptive and olfactory modalities, depending on the context If we expect students to learn mainly in one single way, we're wrong ... and yet the belief continues to persist among teachers. "

Myth # 2: Hemispheric dominance (6% of poll ratings)

"Another persistent untruth is the theory of dominance of the cerebral hemispheres (right vs. left). This theory holds that people are dominated either by the left (deputy to logical and mathematical reasoning) or by the right hemisphere (creativity seat) and visual-spatial capabilities. In reality, these brain functions are not located exclusively in a circumscribed location of the brain, as demonstrated through studies of patients with brain damage. "

Myth # 3: We use only 10% of the brain (9% of the poll votes)

"Another damaging myth is that we use only 10% of our brains ... so 90% of our brains are unused." In fact, neuroscientific research has shown that part of the brain is activated only during specific tasks. it is variable and related to the context. "

The winner is ... Myth # 4: We have a "fixed" intelligence (54% of the poll votes)

According to the survey, none of the myths mentioned so far is the most harmful. According to 668 people who participated in the survey, the most formidable and insidious myth of training is the belief that people have a fixed intelligence. Scientific studies show that intelligence is not defined at birth but can change throughout the life cycle.

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