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NPR Ed
You Probably Believe
Some Learning Myths: Take Our Quiz To Find Out
Anya Kamanetz
This blog post has some pretty useful information. So print it out; get
out your highlighter and take off the cap.
Ready? Now throw it away, because highlighters don't really help people
learn.
We all want for our kids to have optimal learning experiences and, for
ourselves, to stay competitive with lifelong learning. But how well do
you think you understand what good learning looks like?
Ulrich Boser says, probably not very well. His new research on learning
shows that the public is largely ignorant of, well, research on
learning. Boser runs the science of learning initiative at the
left-leaning thinktank the Center for American Progress. He has a new
book out, also about the science of learning, titled Learn Better.
He recently surveyed a representative sample of more than 3,000
Americans to test their beliefs about common learning myths.
"We wanted to document this gap between public perception and good
practice," he told NPR Ed. "In our paper we call it the, 'Been there,
done that' problem. People went to school, so they have a feeling they
know what good teaching looks like."
But in fact, public opinion diverges from reality.
If you want to test your own knowledge, take our version of the
Learning Myths quiz below (Skip to the link). Then come back and read
the rest of this post.
Here are some of the most striking results:
Close to 90 percent of Boser's respondents agreed that students should
receive information in their own "learning style."
The idea that individuals have different learning styles, such as
auditory or kinesthetic, is a pernicious myth. Boser compares it to the
flat-earth myth — highly intuitive, but wrong.
Even the U.S. Department of Education sent out an email just this week
encouraging teachers to "make [their] own call on how to utilize
learning styles in the classroom." One major recent review of research,
among many others, stated that the authors "found virtually no
evidence" for the idea.
Almost 90 percent of respondents agreed that simply re-reading material
is "highly effective" for learning. Research suggests the opposite.
71 percent of respondents indicated that teachers should motivate
students by praising them "for being smart." A large body of research
by Carol Dweck at Stanford and others suggests that this kind of praise
is countereffective. Praising effort, rather than ability, is far more
likely to motivate students to work hard and improve.
On the topic of "growth mindset," more than one-quarter of respondents
believed intelligence is "fixed at birth". Neuroscience says otherwise.
Nearly 60 percent argued that quizzes are not an effective way to gain
new skills and knowledge. In fact, quizzing yourself on something
you've just read is a great example of active learning, the best way to
learn.
More than 40 percent of respondents believed that teachers don't need
to know a subject area such as math or science, as long as they have
good instructional skills. In fact, research shows that deep subject
matter expertise is a key element in helping teachers excel.
And finally, despite their overall poor showing, more than 75 percent
of respondents considered themselves "above average" in their ability
to judge the work that teachers do.
This last finding, which could be called the confidence gap, really
matters for the education kids are getting, Boser argues.
"It helps explain why teaching has been so devalued for a long time. We
see that in how teachers get paid and treated."
Public schools, in particular, are governed by school boards often
composed of non-educators. They are subject to pressure from parents,
too. "Parents' opinions are important, but teaching is a real craft,"
Boser says. "A lot of science goes into it. And we need to do more to
respect that."
If the public doesn't understand what active learning looks like, he
adds, or why growth mindset is important, then schools may be pushed in
the wrong direction.
Read the article and take the quiz at NPR Ed
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