Evidence-based Education
Neuromyths About Learning
Do you believe any of these myths?
What people believe about learning is not the same thing as how learning actually works.
In 2002, a project by the OECD established that there are many misconceptions about the brain and about learning. This means that among the general public and among educators, many people believe ideas about the brain that aren’t true, or hold flawed or inaccurate ideas about how learning works.
Myths about the brain and learning include:
- the idea that not drinking enough water causes a learner’s brain to shrink
- the idea that everyone is either ‘left brained’ or ‘right brained’
Because they are based on flawed understanding of the brain, researchers have come to call these ideas ‘neuromyths’.
While popular, they are not in line with the consensus among scientific researchers, and it would therefore be best if educators didn’t believe them or pass them on via advice to their students.
However, a lot of evidence has accumulated over the past decade that neuromyths are widely believed among educators.
Studies from around the world (including England, China, the Netherlands, Greece, Spain…
