Debunking Neuromyths in Education

Stephanie L. Rathgeber

EDGR 535

Concordia University - Portland

References (p.2)

Nordqvist, C. (2014, September 26). What is

Neuroscience? Retrieved from Medical News Today: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248680.php

OECD. (2002). Neuromyths. Retrieved from Centre

for Educational Research and Innovation - CERI: http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/neuromyths.htm

Oxenham, S. (2015). How Common Myths About

the Human Brain Can Be Dangerous. Retrieved from BigThink: http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/what-has-been-the-real-world-impact-of-neuromyths

TeachIt. (n.d.). Brain Gym- Proof that some schools will believe

ANY old rubbish. Retrieved from TeachIt: http://www.teachit.so/braingym.htm

Tomlin, L. (2012, November 23). Science or Pseudo Science?

Prevalence of Neuromyths in Education. Retrieved from The Education Elf: http://www.educationelf.net/science-or-pseudo-science-prevalence-of-neuromyths-in-education/

References (p.1)

Carey, B (2014). How we learn: The surprising truth about

when, where, and why it happens. New York, NY: Random House.

Brain Gym. (2015). What is "BRAIN GYM?". Retrieved from

Brain Gym International: http://braingym.org/about

Hook, C.J. & Farah, M. J. (2013). Neuroscience for educators.

What are they seeking, and what are they finding? Neuroethics. 6(2). 331-341. doi: 10.1007/s12152-012-91-59-3

Masson, S., & Sarrasin, J. (2015, September). Neuromyths in

Education: It’s time to bust these widely held myths about the brain. Retrieved from Education Canada: http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/neuromyths-education

Neuroscience Image. (2014). Retrieved from What

neuroscience can teach us about management: knowledgeresources.wordpress.com

Neuromyths in Education

Want to Read More Debunking Brain Myth Research?

What Can We Do?

Visit:

Debunking Brain Myths

Curated by Gerald Carey

Debunking

Myths

http://www.scoop.it/t/debunking-brain-myths

Tomlin (2012) suggests that neuroscientists and educators work more closely together to eliminate these costly myths.

Creating a partnership between the education world and scientists would help catch fraudulent claims to improve education and keep all informed.

What Does BRAIN GYM Claim?

A set of 26 movements can:

Why Do Programs Like BRAIN GYM Create an Issue?

• “rewire neural pathways”
• “increase blood flow to the frontal lobes”
• “clear blockages”
• “enable students to access those parts of the brain previously inaccessible”

Neuromyth 1:

Short bouts of coordination exercises can improve integration of left and right hemispheric brain function.

Programs created from neuromyths have resulted in "time and money wasted on interventions that simply don't work" (Oxenham, 2015).

"The exercises are not supported by any credible empirical studies... and the rationale behind this approach has long been invalidated by research" (Masson & Sarrasin, 2015).

Educators might be tempted to too readily adopt

so-called “brain-based” teaching or rearing

strategies that are in fact not based on

any evidence at all" (OECD, 2015).

Brain Gym claims that these movements create dramatic improvements in concentration and focus, memory, academics: reading, writing, math, and test taking, physical coordination, relationships, self-responsibility, organizational skills, and attitude.

(Tomlin, 2012)

(an average of 77% of educators believe this to be true!)

Examples of Coordination Exercises:

• Touching your left ankle with your right hand, and then your right ankle with your left hand.
• Touching your bellybutton with your right hand and your chest near your collarbone with your left index finger and thumb.

What Can Neuroscience Do For Educators?

Brain Gym

Can these exercises really “activate” the brain, and help students learn?

(Masson & Sarrasin, 2015)

Despite the lack of research supporting "Neuromyth 1," a program by the name of "Brain Gym" was introduced in more than 87 countries.

The Truth: NO controlled studies have proven this theory to be true.

(TeachIt)

Brain Gym is a program committed to the principle that "moving with intention leads to optimal learning" (Brain Gym, 2015). Brain Gym utilizes exercises to activate your brain and locate your "brain buttons."

It allows educators to make informed

decisions about their teaching practices.

It can provide strategies to educate students

with developmental and behavioral issues.

It can support ideas of good educational

practices that are already in place.

(Farah & Hook, 2012)

What is Neuroscience?

It sounds promising, doesn't it? Educators always look for strategies to use to get their students up and moving. What could be wrong with Brain Gym?

Take a closer look! It's not Science, it's Psuedo Science.

Neuroscience in Education

How Do Neuromyths Begin?

"By discovering how our minds work, we can improve our learning power and unlock our true potential."

"Brain Gym bases its principles on some scientific theories but much on pseudoscientific nonsense" (Tomlin, 2012).

Neuroscience is the study of how the

nervous system develops, its structure, and what it does.

Neuroscientists focus on the brain and its impact on behavior and cognitive functions.

-Robert Winston

Most educators want to know how the brain works during student learning (Farah & Hook, 2012).

Neuroscience can offer educators ways to improve student learning through innovative methods.

Researched-based texts such as "How We Learn" by Benedict Carey (2014), provide educators with proven strategies for success. Carey (2014) addresses ways in which people learn through forgetting, perception, pretesting, visuals,

and other techniques that are proven

through studies.

(Nordqvist, 2014)

Neuromyths usually occur with a "misunderstanding, a misreading and, in some cases, a deliberate warping of the scientifically established facts to make a relevant case for education or for other purposes" (OECD, 2002). They could also occur when the theory is presented in a way that is confusing to educators.

Some companies begin to take advantage of the informational gaps and create programs and materials that will "dramatically improve" student performance.

-Do they have credible studies to support their claims?

Educators start researching solutions to their problems and conversations begin to sound like,

"That sounds good, right? I mean, it kind of makes

sense. I don't know another solution,

so let's go with it!"

(Masson & Sarrasin, 2015)