Neuromyths and Why They Persist in the Classroom

Neuromyths and Why They Persist in the Classroom

Binh Tran

Buch, Prateek. "Neuromyths and Why They Persist in the Classroom." Sense About Science. N.p., 7 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 July 2016. <http://www.senseaboutscience.org/blog.php/77/neuromyths-and-why-they-persist-in-the-classroom>.

Summary

The article discusses the many popular myths regarding neurology and how the relate to education. Popular conceptions such as Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory and also the left-right brain paradigm are rooted not in verifiable empirical evidence, but rather in spurious pseudoscience. Studies of the human brain through the use of neuroimaging technology reveals no truth to the idea that different sections of the human brain play a role in intelligence. Further studies suggest that different formats of learning: visual, auditory or kinesthetic, have no discernable difference on student performance or brain function. The author goes on to discuss major reasons why such myths continue to shape education even after decades of evidence have already disproven such claims. Often teachers and even academic researchers are poorly educated on matters of neuroscience and rely on word-of-mouth to get their information. This in turn leads to the creation of poorly thought out and outright incorrect theories on education being developed.

Evaluation

Buch’s article is very well written and informative, if harsh on this issue of neuromyths. The paper is well organized, and includes links to more in-depth studies on the matter. Much of the article’s claims seem inherently skeptical, if not outright hostile towards what has become a major foundation of educational theory. Also, more of the material deals not so much with educational theory so much as the ethics of using such neuromyths to shape educational theory itself. I find that while the article is extremely informative on a subject that I believe to be of great importance to the field of education, it also frustratingly presents a problem with no apparent solution.