Category: Myths

Mitos urbanos sobre aprendizaje y educación (Our first Urban Myths about Learning and Education now available in Spanish)

No, I will never get used to this. We first wrote our book in Dutch. This was followed by the extremely popular version in English (with still at least one copy sold every single day, imagine that), a version in Swedish and even a Chinese edition. And now the Spanish version has been published. Muchas… Read More Mitos urbanos sobre aprendizaje y educación (Our first Urban Myths about Learning and Education now available in Spanish)

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This is really, really bad: papers that cannot be replicated are cited 153 times more because their findings are interesting

Maybe this study has to be replicated first, but if true it’s really a sad thing: papers that cannot be replicated are cited 153 times more because their findings are interesting. From the press release: Papers in leading psychology, economic and science journals that fail to replicate and therefore are less likely to be true… Read More This is really, really bad: papers that cannot be replicated are cited 153 times more because their findings are interesting

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This study finds that merit pay in education can make segregation worse

We have known that merit pay is often an expensive approach with little to no effect. But maybe we should change this view, as this new study shows that it can have a detrimental effect on segregation: Teacher incentive pay programs that focused on raising student achievement in high-need high schools expanded the test score… Read More This study finds that merit pay in education can make segregation worse

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New review shows that learning styles aren’t dead yet… (but says also something important about the research)

Learning styles, don’t get me started… It’s an education myth I’m a bit tired of, and that’s a euphemism. Often when giving talks about urban myths about learning and education I tend to think that everybody already knows that e.g. learning styles have been debunked. Most of the time I have to discover that this… Read More New review shows that learning styles aren’t dead yet… (but says also something important about the research)

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A popular but incorrect idea: our brain is not an onion with a tiny reptile inside

It’s something I’ve head over and over again but that is corrected in this preprint by Cesario, Johnsson & Eisthen from which this is the abstract: A widespread misconception in much of psychology holds that (1) as vertebrate animals evolved, “newer” brain structures were added over existing “older” brain structures and (2) these newer, more… Read More A popular but incorrect idea: our brain is not an onion with a tiny reptile inside

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New review on multitasking while learning: a big problem, but also an opportunity?

It’s something Paul Kirschner and I have written about before, and a new review study confirms: using electronic media while doing schoolwork negatively impacts learning. But even worse: any students believe they’re immune to any ill effects because they’re good multitaskers, which they’re not. From the press release: Scanning social media while listening to a… Read More New review on multitasking while learning: a big problem, but also an opportunity?

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There is an update to the debunking handbook

As an educational mythbuster I welcome this update to the The Debunking Handbook 2020 as it… summarises the current state of the science of misinformation and its debunking. It was written by a team of 22 prominent scholars of misinformation and its debunking, and it represents the current consensus on the science of debunking for engaged… Read More There is an update to the debunking handbook

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Another growth mindset study with not so good news: does growth-mindset intervention at scale work?

There is a new Best Evidence in Brief and I picked this study as it’s a nice addition to our book: Students with growth mindsets believe their abilities are malleable through hard work, which in turn, will positively influence their school performance. A recent study by Ganimianevaluated the effects of a “growth-mindset” intervention at scale… Read More Another growth mindset study with not so good news: does growth-mindset intervention at scale work?

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