The science of learning - misconceptions

Most children favour which learning style?

• Visual

• Auditory

• Kinaesthetic

• Learning styles are a myth

Answer explanation

The idea that people learn better when taught in a way that matches their specific “learning style” — auditory, kinesthetic, visual or some combination of the three — is widely considered a myth. Research has variously suggested that learners don’t actually benefit from their preferred style, that teachers and pupils have different ideas about what learning styles actually work for them, and that we have very little insight into how much we’re actually learning from various methods.

People are not preferentially “right-brained” or “left-brained” in the use of their brains.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The idea that there are right-brained and left-brained people is a myth. Although we all obviously have different personalities and talents, there’s no reason to believe these differences can be explained by the dominance of one half of the brain over the other half.

Humans use only 10% of their brains

• True

• False

Answer explanation

In reality, the 10% claim is 100% myth. You use all of your brain. The only instances where there are unused regions of the brain are those in which brain damage or disease has destroyed certain regions.

Novices and experts cannot think in the same ways

• True

• False

Answer explanation

People who have developed expertise in particular areas are, by definition, able to think effectively about problems in those areas. Understanding expertise is important because it provides insights into the nature of thinking and problem solving. Research shows that it is not simply general abilities, such as memory or intelligence, nor the use of general strategies that differentiate experts from novices. Instead, experts have acquired extensive knowledge that affects what they notice and how they organize, represent, and interpret information in their environment. This, in turn, affects their abilities to remember, reason, and solve problems.

Cognitive development does not progress via a fixed progression of age-related stages

• True

• False

Answer explanation

In other words... learning is messy! One of the most persistent myths in child development is that development unfolds in a predictable series of stages that build upon previous gains (e.g., Piaget, 1977); however, there is little support for this pattern of change despite decades of research on development (Newcombe, 2013).