In 2018, Dr. Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa published Neuromyths: Debunking False Ideas About The Brain, a book that interrogates roughly sixty myths about learning and teaching. She frames each myth by explaining the myth, discussing the origin of the myth, and what we now know. Each chapter concludes with a section – Why This is Good News for Teaching – where she aggregates all the science to inform how we can leverage this knowledge in our teaching.
Below are a few of the neuromyths from the last five chapters of the book. Note that each chapter has a between five and ten myths in it.
PEOPLE CAN LEARN IN THEIR SLEEP
Despite the promises of marketers, there is not a bonafide way to learn new things while sleeping. It is possible (and quite necessary) to rehearse and refine when sleeping, but listening to headphones to learn a new language while you sleep is not going to happen. Sleep is critical for learning (consolidation happens during sleep – check out Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker for more info).
YOU CAN’T GROW NEW BRAIN CELLS
“Neurogenesis” – the birth of new brain cells – was first observed in animals in 1962 and then in humans in 1998. While we have only seen this phenomenon in only a few different regions of the brain, there is no reason to think we won’t see more neurogenesis in other parts of the brain in the future.
PEOPLE ONLY REMEMBER 10% OF WHAT THEY READ
The claim that people only remember 10% of what they read is a gross misinterpretation from a 1946 piece by Edgar Dale. His initial contention was that a variety of instructional experiences are better than single-mode learning. Dale never attributed any numerical analysis to his work. We now know that it is best to leverage different techniques when teaching but they need to match the objective of the learning outcome.
CHILDREN ARE LESS ATTENTIVE AFTER SUGARY SNACKS
For this myth, let’s turn to Tokuhama-Espinosa:
“Although they are often blamed for less attentiveness, it is likely that the opposite is true because some sodas not only contain sugar, they contain caffeine (which also makes them addictive). People often worry that sugary drinks drain the body of its ability to stay focused at a consistent level. However, the body returns to a balanced state quickly and often without our noticing it. The idea of extreme sugar highs followed by crashes is often reported in parenting magazines, but this is rare.”
Dr. Tokuhama-Espinosa continues by noting that
“people who drink sweetened beverages tend to have an overall lower dietary quality that those who do not drink sugary drinks. This means it is likely not the intake of sugary drinks itself that makes people feel sluggish, but their generally poor diets.”
ADULTS CANNOT LEARN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AS FAST AS A CHILD
This myth dates back to the 1960’s and still perseveres today. Don’t worry – adults can still learn a foreign language as fast (or faster!) as a child – provided they spend the same amount of time on task. Research shows that there is at least nine differences in the way that adults and children learn foreign languages though (for instance adults approach languages through a rules-based approach, adults are more likely to apprehend grammar, vocabulary, and context while children are more likely to perfect accents, and adults tend to have ego issues where children do not).
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