知识就是力量：教师对学习的认知 KNOWLEDGE IS POWER What teachers believe about learning

AnalysisPaper92|October2025

KNOWLEDGEISPOWER

Whatteachersbelieveaboutlearning

TrishaJha

Knowledgeispower

Whatteachersbelieveaboutlearning

TrishaJha

EDUCAT1ON

老Mckinnon

AnalysisPaper92

Contents

ExecutiveSummary 1

Introduction 2

Finding1:Teachersvaluebrain-basedknowledge,butthisincludesmythsaboutlearning 3

Whatareneuromyths? 3

‘Learningstyles’myth 4

‘Hemisphericdominance’myth 5

‘Braingym’myth 5

‘10%’myth 6

Finding2:Beliefinlearningmythscaninformpractice,buttherelationshipisnotclearcut7

The‘learningstyles’mythinpractice 7

The‘hemisphericdominance’mythinpractice 8

The‘braingym’mythinpractice 8

The‘10%’mythinpractice 8

Finding3:Evidencethatteachershavescienceoflearning-relatedknowledgeislimited 9

Whatis‘scienceoflearning-relatedknowledge’? 9

Attentionandlearning 10

Workingmemoryanditslimits 10

Memorysystemsandlong-termmemory 10

Retention,recallandtesting 11

Spaced,massedandinterleavedpractice 11

Priorknowledge 12

Inquiry/project-basedlearningandexplicitteaching 13

Problem-solvingandcriticalthinking 13

Implications 14

Implication1:Teachers’mentalmodelsneedstrengtheningforteacherstobefull

professionals 15

Teachersshowaninconsistentunderstandingofhowstudentslearn 15

Evidence-basedmentalmodelsareneededtoimprovepractice 15

Implication2:Thesuccessofreformeffortsdependsonhowsuccessfullyteacher

knowledgeisdeveloped 17

Teachingcannotbeafullprofessionwithoutbetterknowledge 17

Teachersneedascienceoflearningknowledgetoolkittobeeffective,

discerningpractitioners 20

Teacherknowledgeisessentialtoimplementingreforms 21

Implication3:Measureteachers’knowledge,nottheirbeliefsorself-reportedpractice 22

Problemswithmeasuringbeliefsorpractice 22

Conclusion 24

AppendixA:Tableofselectedstudiesexaminingneuromythprevalence,inorderof

publication 25

AppendixB:QuestionnairefromDekkeretal.2012 28

References 29

1

ExecutiveSummary

ThisreportpresentsfindingsfromIiteratureaboutwhatteachersbeIieveabouthow

studentsIearn:theprevaIenceofmyths

aboutIearning,towhatextentthesemythsinformpractice,andwhatresearchthereistosuggestteachersunderstandthefacts

abouthowstudentsIearnbest.

IntermsofteacherknowIedgeandbeIiefs,thereportfinds:

1.Teachersvaluebrain-based

knowledge,butthisincludesmythsaboutlearning.

•ThebeIiefthatstudentshavea

\IearningstyIe/thatmeanstheyIearnbetteriftaughtinIinewiththat\styIe/iswideIyheIdgIobaIIy,incIudingby

cIearmajoritiesofAustraIianteachers.

•ThebeIiefthatstudentscanbeIeft-brainorright-braindominantisaIsoverycommongIobaIIy,andheIdbyaroundhaIfofAustraIianteachers.

•OthercommonmythsincIudetheideathatphysicaIcoordinationexercises

improvementaIcoordination,andthatpeopIeonIyuse10%oftheirbrains.

2.Beliefinlearningmythscaninformpractice,buttherelationshipisnot

clearcut.

•SpecificstudiesoncertainneuromythssuchasIearningstyIesandhemisphericdominancesuggestteachersdoseIf-

reportincorporatingmythsintotheir

teachingpractice,butthisdiffersbasedonthemythinquestionandtheage

groupofstudentstaught.

oAnAustraIianstudyshowed

35%ofearIychiIdhoodteachersincorporatedIeft-andright-

brainIearnersintotheirpractice,comparedto29%forprimaryandonIy20%ofsecondary.

oThesamestudyaskedparticipantsaboutincorporatingphysicaIactivityintotheteachingofIiteracy,and

resuItsweremuchhigherforearIychiIdhood(88%)andprimary

education(85%)thanforsecondary

education(53%).

3.Evidencethatteachershavescienceoflearningknowledgeislimited.

•IScienceofIearning-reIatedknowIedge/referstothegrowingbodyof

knowIedgedrawnfromcognitive

psychoIogywithdirectimpIicationsforteaching.

•AhandfuIofstudiesexpIoredquestionsreIatingtoattentionandIearning,

workingmemoryanditsIimits,memorysystemsandIong-termmemory,

retention,recaIIandtesting,spaced,massedandinterIeavedpractice,priorknowIedge,inquiry/project-based

IearningandexpIicitteaching,and

probIem-soIvingandcriticaIthinking.

•ResuItsvariedacrossthesetopics

(exceptforpriorknowIedge,where

responsesweregeneraIIyaccurate)

butinmostcasesthestrengthof

evidencebehindagivenprincipIe

wasnotmatchedbyknowIedgeofitamongeducators,andviewswere

oftenpoIariseddespiteaconsensusofevidence.

IntermsofwhatpoIicymakersneedto

focusonnext,thereportfindsconcerted

effortsarerequiredtobuiIdupcoherent

mentaImodeIsamongAustraIianteachers,ensuringIearningmythsarerejectedandteacherknowIedgeisconsistentIybasedonevidenceabouthowstudentsIearn.

ThereportrecommendsthefoIIowing:

1.PoIicymakersmustensureinitiaI

teachereducationcorecontent

requirementsarerigorousIyenforced.

2.TheAustraIianProfessionaIStandardsforTeachersmustberewritten,

andincIudeknowIedge-basedseIf-evaIuation.

3.SystemsIookingtoscaIescienceof

Iearning-informedpracticesinschooIsshouIdmeasure,monitoranddeveIopteachers/knowIedge.

FutureCISresearchwiIIassembIe,fieIdtestandreporttheresuItsofasurvey

assessingAustraIianteachers/knowIedgeaboutthescienceofIearning.

2

Introduction

Whatisgoodteaching?Howdoweknowwhenit’shappening?

Australianpoliticiansandpolicymakers

havehistoricallybeenunwillingtoanswerthefirstquestionwithreferencetospecific,observableactionsandpractices,and

havepreferredtoleaveansweringthe

secondquestiontoschools,andteachersthemselves.

Butwithoutbeingabletodefinegood

teaching,it’simpossibletoknowwhenit’shappening.

Studentresultsacrossnationaland

internationaltestinghavefallenand

stagnated,despiterecordlevelsof

spendingoneducation.Inresponse,

policymakershavegraduallycometo

accepttheneedtoopenthe‘blackbox’ofclassroompracticeandpursueapproachesthataimtomoreexplicitlyshapehow

studentsaretaught.

Thismeanspoliciesaimtoscalepracticesdirectlyinformedbythescienceof

learning:insightsabouthowstudents

learn,connectedtoimplicationsfor

teachingpractice.Onesuchimplication

istheimportanceofexplicitteachingof

aknowledge-richcurriculum—aconcept

thathasattractedbipartisaninterest

politically,andtheinterestofdiverseschoolsystemsacrosssectors.

Aprominentexampleofthescienceof

learningturninAustralianeducationpolicyisthelandmarkTeacherEducationExpertPanelreportStrongBeginnings(2023),

whichaimstoreformthenation’sinitial

teachereducationcoursestoincludethis

bodyofknowledge.Butitisalsoevident

elsewherewithintheeducationlandscape,suchasscienceoflearning-informed

instructionalmodelsbeinggradually

adoptedbymoresystems,governmentandCatholicalike.

Butwithoutchangestoteachers’classroompractice,policymakersruntheriskof

whatveteraneducationreformerLarry

Cubanoncecalled‘ahurricaneatsea’—

“storm-tossedwavesontheoceansurface,turbulentwaterafathomdown,andcalmontheoceanfloor”.1

PreviousCISresearch(seeRR47,

ImplementingtheScienceofLearning:

teacherexperiences)hasobservedthat

while‘top-down’changesinpolicyand

frameworksarevitaltocreatingenablingconditionsforchangesinpractice,‘bottomup’andlateralchangeisevenmore

important.Suchchangeoccurswhen

schoolsandteachersinfluenceeachothertoadoptteachingpracticesthatimproveoutcomesforstudents.

Therefore,teacherknowledgeabout

thescienceoflearning,howeveritis

developed,iskeytothesuccessofwell-intentionedreformmovements.Thisis

becausewhatteachersknoworbelieve

(whethertacitlyorexplicitly)caninformtheirpractice—andonlywhatteacherspracticedeterminesthesuccessorfailureofscienceoflearning-informedpolicy.

England’sexperiencewithitsscienceof

learning-informedEarlyCareerFrameworksuggestspolicycananddoesinfluence

teacherpractice,2althoughthisisbynomeansaguaranteedoutcome.

Teacherbeliefsandknowledgeare

essentialforpolicy-drivenapproachestoraisestudentachievementviaadoptionofscienceoflearning-informedpractices.Sofindingwaystomeasure,monitor

anddevelopteacherknowledgeshouldthereforebeapriority.

However,thisshouldbeginwithaprocessofinvestigatingwhatisalreadyknown

aboutteachers’knowledge,beliefsand

practices.Thisreportusesliteratureto

showhighproportionsofteachersacross

theworld—includingAustralianteachers—believeinmythsaboutlearningandmayincorporatethosebeliefsintheirteachingpractice.

Thereportalsoreviewsthemuchsmallerevidencebaseaboutteacherknowledgeofscienceoflearning-relatedconcepts.

Finally,thereportmakesrecommendationsforpolicymakersaboutstrengthening

teachers’‘mentalmodels’ofteaching,andhowteacherknowledgecanbemeasuredinfuture.

3

Finding1:Teachersvaluebrain-basedknowledge,butthisincludesmythsaboutlearning

Followingthedeclarationofthe‘decadeofthebrain’atthebeginningofthe1990s,theOECDbeganaprogramofworkthataimedtousenewinsightsfrombrain

imagingtechnologyandconnectthemtovariousareasofpublicpolicy,includingeducation.Sincethattime,studieshaveaimedtomeasureteachers’perceptionsoftherelevanceandutilityofbrain-

basedknowledge(BBK),hereusedasanumbrellatermforfindingsderivedfromneuroscience,brainimaging,psychologyandcognitivescience.

Oneoftheearlieststudiesofteacher

viewsandperceptionsofbrain-based

informationanditsrelationshiptoteachingandlearningandusedaquestionnaire

in2007togatherresponsesfrom189

teachers,withmostsubjectsrecruitedfromconferencesaboutlearningandthebrain.Thestudyfoundmostparticipantsthoughttheroleofthebrainwasimportantfora

rangeofactivities,“includingthedesignanddeliveryofteaching,provisionfor

specialneeds,andtheroleofnutrition”,butonly57%ofparticipantsthought

knowledgeofthebrainwasimportantforcurriculum.3

Morerecently,asmallsampleof22pre-serviceteachers(PSTs)and73in-serviceteachers(ISTs)completedapre-survey

abouttheirperceptionsofthescienceof

learning,andclearmajorities(86%of

PSTsand84%ofISTs)saidthey‘agree’or‘stronglyagree’withthestatement:

Ithinkitisnecessaryforeducators

tounderstandthescienceof“how

learninghappens/howpeoplelearn”beforelearningaboutrecommendedteachingstrategies(Forexample,tounderstandwhysomethingworksandnotjustthatitworks).4

Thisalignswiththeearlierresearch,wheretheauthorsconcluded:

…thissurveyofteachers’views

leftuswithaclearimpressionthateducatorsdonotwantsimplytobe“toldwhatworks”(Goswami,2006); instead,theywishtoknowmore

aboutthebrainandthemind…[to]supporttheirowndecisionsaboutwhatworksinthecontextoftheirparticularclassroom.5

However,thisinterestmasksthefactthattermssuchas‘educationalneuroscience’,‘mindandbraineducation’,‘brain-based

knowledge’or‘scienceoflearning’can

meanverydifferentthingstodifferent

people.Forinstance,researchfromthe

2000sshowsteacherslinkedsuchlearningtoideassuchas‘learningstyles’and

educationalkinesiology(e.g.theideathatmovementcontributestolearning,as

intheBrainGymprogram).Thisreportnowturnstooutliningsomeofthemostprevalentmythsaboutlearning.

Whatareneuromyths?

TheOECD’sfirstmajorreportforits

LearningSciencesandBrainResearch

programin2002notedtheriskofa

growingbeliefin‘neuromyths’.Neuromythsweredefinedas“misconception[s]

generatedbyamisunderstanding,a

misreadingoramisquotingoffacts

scientificallyestablished(bybrainresearch)tomakeacaseforuseofbrainresearch,

ineducationandothercontexts”.6Thiswasfurtheraddressedina2007report,whichcontainedanentirechapterdedicatedto

dispellingneuromyths.7

Theoriesdifferastowhyneuromyths

havespread.Somescholarsnotethey

arequicklypackagedinto“low-cost

andeasilyimplementedclassroom

approaches”inhopesofbettersupportingstudentlearning.8Withstudents,

parentsandteachersnotknowingany

better,commercialincentivescanfuel

dissemination.9EminenteducationtheoristandknowledgeadvocateE.DHirsch

hasobservedthatsomeneuromyths

thatemphasisethedifferencesbetween

studentssitneatlywithinaneducationalzeitgeistthatemphasisesindividuality.10Otherresearchsuggestsconfirmationbias

playsarole,whereneuromythscanprovideacomfortingnarrativeofsuccess,orlack

thereof.11

4

Thoughstudiesthatattempttodrawa

directconnectionbetweenclassroom

practicesandunderlyingbeliefsare

limited,thereissomeevidencetosuggestteachersdomakeinstructionaldecisions

basedonmythsabouthowstudentslearn.Forexample,aDeansforImpactstudy

ofbeginnerpre-serviceteachersasked

themtoselectbetweenpairsofteachingstrategyscenarios—onealignedwiththescienceoflearning,andonenot—and

foundamajorityofparticipantsselected

thelatteronthebasisofconsiderations

suchasthetaskbeing“moreinclusivetovisuallearners”and“morehandsonandismoreinquirylearning”,andbecause“somestudentsarekinaestheticlearners”.12

Inanycase,inrecentdecades,therehas

beensignificantinterestfromacademia

inattemptingtomeasuretheprevalence

ofbeliefineducationalmyths,and

neuromythsareoneofthebest-studied

aspectsofteacherknowledgeandbeliefs.

Areviewoftheliteratureshowsthat,

althoughtherearedifferencesbetween

countriesintermsofwhichneuromyths

areprevalentandhowprevalenttheyare,neuromythbeliefcanbeobservedinmanycountriesaroundtheworld.Thetable

includedasAppendixAprovidesasummaryofsomekeypapersinthisliterature.

Twoearlystudies(Howard-Jonesand

colleaguesin2009andDekkerand

colleaguesin2012)13setthetrend

forresearchintoneuromyths.These

questionnairesarelengthy,andthe

statementstestedhavevaryinglevelsof

relevancetolearningandteaching.ThefullquestionnairefromDekkeretal.isincludedinAppendixB.Asampleoftheseitems

hasbeenselectedforfurtherdiscussion

basedontheirobservedprevalenceamongteachers,aswellastheirdirectrelevancetolearningandteaching.

‘Learningstyles’myth

Onedefinitionofthe‘learningstyles’

constructattheheartofthemythisthe

following:“Differentstudentshavedifferentmodesoflearning,andtheirlearningcouldbeimprovedbymatchingone’steaching

withthatpreferredlearningmode”,with

onemodeldividingthese‘modes’into

bodilysenses—commonlyvisual,auditory,kinaesthetic(VAK),14sometimeswith

reading-writingadded(VARK).

Theoriginsofthelearningstyles(LS)mythareunclear,andthereareseveralmodelsthatcategoriselearnersdifferently.As

therearedifferencesbetweenlearners,andteacherswillattempttoadaptinstruction

accordingly,LSmayhaveintuitiveappealasalogicalextensionofthatbelief.15Forlearningstylestobetrue,somecriteria

wouldneedtobemet,accordingto

cognitivescientistDanielWillingham:“itshouldconsistentlyattributetoapersonthesamestyle,itshouldshowthatpeoplewithdifferentabilitiesthinkandlearn

differently,anditshouldshowthatpeoplewithdifferentstylesdonot,onaverage,differinability”.16

Butthesethresholdcriteriaarenot

metonthebasisofcurrentevidence.17

Teacherscan’taccuratelyassesstheir

students’learningstyles.18AsPashlerandcolleaguesfoundalmosttwodecadesago,eventhoughpeoplewillexpresslearningpreferencesandfeeltheyperformbetterinparticularmodalities,experimental

researchdoesnotsupporttheideathat

studentslearnbetterorworsedependingonwhethertheyhavebeentaughtina

waythatalignswiththeirputativelearningstyle.19

IftheLSmythisendorsedbyeducatorsandthisbeliefinformstheirapproachtoteaching,thiscanleadtoseveralnegativeeffects:20

•Pigeonholingstudentsbymaking

assumptionsaboutwhat,orhow,theywillorwon’tlearn;

•Wastedresourcesonineffectivemethodsanddilutionofeffectivemethods;and

•Creationofunrealisticexpectationsforteachersamongstudentsandfamiliesforappropriatelyindividualised/

differentiatedinstruction.

BecauseLSisoneofthemostprevalentoftheneuromyths,researchhasbeenconductedspecificallyabouteducators’beliefin,useof,andattitudesto,LS

theories.AcompletelistofstudiesisavailableinAppendixA.

Asitisarguablythemostprevalent

mythaboutlearning,itisoneofthe

best-studied.AsystematicreviewoftheLSmythfrom2020included37studies

5

(dating2009-2020)covering15,405

educatorsacross18differentcountries,

findingbeliefin,andincorporationofLS

theoryintoteachingwashigh.89%of

educatorsbelievedinmatchinginstructionto‘learningstyles’(range:58%to

97.6%).21Therewasnoevidencequalifiedteacherswerelesslikelytobelieveinit

thanpre-serviceteachers—suggestingthisisnotabeliefthatself-correctswithpracticalclassroomexperience.

AppendixAlistsfourstudiesusing

AustralianPSTsandISTs,withsample

sizesbeingmuchlargerinstudiesutilisingaPSTsample.Australianteachersdonotappeartobedifferenttointernational

counterparts.Onesmallstudyofteachersinlearningsupportandspecialeducationshowedtwo-thirdsaffirmedlearningstylesandthree-quarterstheconceptof‘multipleintelligences’.22Alargerstudyof228in

serviceteachersshowed79%affirmedabeliefinLS.23

Theredoesnotappeartobeany

correlationbetweencareerstageand

likelihoodofbelievingthemyth.Onthe

otherhand,resultsvaryfrom97%ina

studyfrom2017,24to79%inthemost

recentAustralianstudyfrom2020.25It

ispossiblethissuggestsbeliefinLS,at

leastinAustralia,iswaningovertime,butthereareanynumberoffactorsthatcouldaccountforthedifference.MoreresearchisneededtodetermineprevalenceoftheLSmyth,bothamongearlyPSTsandISTs.

Educators’specificunderstandingsof

LSalsovary,andthereisnoguaranteethatpeoplemeanthesamething

whentheyusetheterm.AlthoughtheVAK/VARKframeworkandGardner’s

multipleintelligenceswerecommon

conceptualisationsofLSinonesampleofGreekteachers,theauthorsalsonote

“thetermseemstomeandifferentthingstodifferentpeople”,26suggestingtheneedforadeeperinvestigationofwhatistrulyknownorbelievedinthisarea.

‘Hemisphericdominance’myth

Themythof‘hemisphericdominance’

referstotheideathatindividualscanbe

‘dominant’ononesideofthebrainortheother,socanbe‘left-brained’or‘right-

brained’learners.Thekerneloftruthattheheartofthismythiseachhemisphereof

thebrainhasspecialisations,buttherealityisbothsidesofthebrainareconnectedandworktogetherformostbrainfunctions,27

andany‘dominance’doesnotentaila

differentwayoflearningoradifferentlevelofaptitudeorintelligence.RobertLouis

Stevenson’sclassicnovelaboutthedualityofman,TheStrangeCaseofDrJekyll

andMrHyde(1886),hasbeenposited

ascontributingtothemyth,wherethe

refined,logical,DrJekylliscontrastedwithhisviolent,impulsivealter-egoMrHyde.28

AswiththeLSmyth,theunderlyingbeliefappearstobeoneofaffirmingstudents’

individualityinawaythatinformshow

theircapacitiesshouldbeseenaslearners.

Thus,theproblemswiththemythas

abeliefinhowlearninghappensare

likethosecanvassedaboveforlearning

styles:therisksofpigeonholingstudents,andallowingstudentstopigeonhole

themselves,thusshrinkingtheirhorizonstowhatiseasy,familiarandcomfortable.

Nosystematicreviewshavebeen

conductedspecificallyonthehemisphericdominancemyth.AppendixApresents

asummaryoffindingsfromglobal

research.StudiesusethephrasingfromHoward-Jonesetal.(2009)“Differencesinhemisphericdominance(leftbrain,

rightbrain)canhelpexplainindividualdifferencesamongstlearners”asthe

statementtobetested,althoughminorvariationsonthiswordingaremadeinsomeofthelistedstudies.

AswithLS,themythofhemispheric

dominanceishighlypopular,withmost

studiesshowingaclearmajorityofstudysubjects,coveringcountriesallaroundtheworld,believethemyth.OnebrightspotisthattwomorerecentstudiesofAustralianpre-serviceandpractisingteachersboth

showprevalencejustbelow50%,althoughthisisstillaminorityofreasonablesize.

‘Braingym’myth

BrainGymisacommercialprogramthataimstoboostlearningthroughmovement,aformofeducationalkinesiology.Inthe

mid-2000s,BrainGymprogramswere

popularinBritishschools,withscience

communicatorDrBenGoldacrein2006

callingit“avastempireofpseudosciencebeingpeddledinhundredsofstateschoolsupanddownthecountry”.29

6

Perhapsduetothepopularityatthe

time,theliteraturehastestedteachers’

perceptionofthesciencebehindthe

programwiththestatement“Shortboutsofco-ordinationexercisescanimprove

integrationofleftandrighthemispheric

brainfunction”.BrainGymitselfhas

noconclusiveevidenceinsupportof

itseffectiveness,andtheunderlying

neurologicalclaimsalsolackempirical

support.30Itshouldalsobenotedthere

areotherprogramsandapproachesthat

makeclaimsabouthemisphericintegrationandmentalfunction,butmoststudiesusethegenericstatementaboveratherthan

specifying‘BrainGym’,soabeliefinthismythcouldhaveimplicationsbeyondthisspecificprogram.

Comparedtolearningstyles,the‘brain

gym’mythissomewhatlesspopular,andthereisgreatervariationacrossstudies.

UnfortunatelyfortheAustraliancontext,

clearmajoritiesofPSTsacrosstwostudies(57%and87%)reportedbeliefinthe

myth.31Oneofthetwostudiesofpractisingteachers(Hughesetal.2020)showed

94%ofISTsalsobelieveinthemyth.A

similarlyhighproportion(91%)affirmed

theirbeliefinasimilaridea,“Exercises

thatrehearseco-ordinationofmotor-

perceptionskillscanimproveliteracy

skills”.Concerningly,thesamestudynotedthat86%ofthosesurveyedreportedbeing‘confident’or‘veryconfident’intheirbeliefincoordinationexercisesimprovingbrain

function,comparedtoonly54%expressingconfidenceintheirrejection.32Like

othermyths,thiscouldresultinwastedresourcesonineffectivemethodsanddilutionofeffectivemethods.

Drawingconclusionsfromthisdataaboutwhatteachersknoworbelieveismade

difficultbythefactthattheboundary

betweenfactandmythcanbeeasily

blurredonthisissue.Forinstance,it’struethatexercisecanimprovementalfunction,andthebrainisseparatedintotwosphereswhichhaveadegreeofspecialisation.Butthisdoesnotmeancoordinationexercisesorothereducationalkinesiology-related

activitieswillhaveapositiveimpactonmentalfunctionforlearningpurposes.

‘10%’myth

The‘10%’mythreferstotheideathat

humansonlyusethissmallproportionof

theirbraincapacity;theremainingcapacityistherewaitingtobeunlocked.Thisis

sometimesreflectedinpopularculture,

suchasthe2014LucBessonfilmLucy,inwhichScarlettJohansson’stitularcharactergainssuperhero-likepowersbyunlockingthiscapacity.

Instudies,thisistestedwiththe

statement:“wemostlyonlyuse10%of

ourbrains”.Thisideahasbeenatalking

pointfromasearlyasthe1930s,but

possiblyreceivedakickstartinthe‘decadeofthebrain’duetothedevelopmentof

brainimagingtechniques,withimagingpurportingtoshowthatspecificareasofthebrainarelinkedtospecificfunctions.

Thismaymutateintoabeliefthatonly

thoseareasthatare‘litup’onthese

imagesareactiveandotherareasare

inactive,whereasevenallegedly‘non-

functional’glialcellsandgrey-shadedareashavetheirroleinbrainfunction.33

Overall,beliefinthe‘10%’mythis

somewhatlessprevalentthanbeliefintheothermyths.ThetwomorerecentstudiesfromAustralia(Carteretal.2020ofPSTsandHughesetal.2020ofISTs)reportedaprevalenceof27%and38%respectively.34

7

Finding2:Beliefinlearningmythscaninformpractice,buttherelationshipisnotclearcut

Beliefinneuromyths,orotherfalsebeliefsabouthowlearningfunctionsinthebrain,shouldalsobeconsideredinlightof

whetherthesebeliefsimpactinstructionaldecision-making.Thefourkeymyths

(learningstyles,hemisphericdominance,braingymand10%),withtheirhigh

levelsofprevalence,haveamixedlevel

ofinstructionalimplications,withstudy

participantslikelytosayviewsonconceptssuchaslearningstylesandhemispheric

dominanceinformedtheirteaching.

The‘learningstyles’mythinpractice

TheaforementionedsystematicreviewoftheLSmythfoundoverall89%

ofeducatorsbelievedintheideaof

matchinginstructiontolearningstyles.

Theproportionofeducatorswhoreportedmatchingteachingtolearningstyles

inpracticewaslower,butat80%stillextremelyhigh.35

OnlyoneAustralianstudyaskedthe

questionaboutLSandteaching,asking

“Doyoutakeintoaccountindividual

LearningStyles(i.e.visual,auditory,

kinaesthetic;multipleintelligences)inyourteachingpractice?”andrevealedclear

majoritiesofteachersinthesampledid,

albeitatdifferentrates:88%forearly

childhood,85%forprimaryand83%for

secondary.36Inastudyof283FrenchSwisseducatorsusingdifferentwording,96%ofparticipantsagreed“someindividualsare

visual,othersareauditory”,87%agreed“apedagogicalapproachbasedonsuchadistinctionfavourslearning”,and80%reportedtheyeitherusedorintendedtousethisdistinctioninteaching.37

GreekteachersreportedLS-informed

approachesintheirteaching,suchas

throughinteractiveboardsandcomputers,motoractivitieslikesensoryplayand

workingingroups.38Whilenoneoftheseareproblematicapproachesinandof

themselves,iftheyarebeingusedtoachieveagoalofcateringtoLS,theymaynotservetoaddresscorelearningobjectives—andwillwastescarce

instructionaltimeaswell.

AUSstudyof60educatorspresented

participantswith