Great Myths of Education and Learning

Great Myths of Education and Learning reviews the scientific research on a number of widely-held misconceptions pertaining to learning and education, including misconceptions regarding student characteristics, how students learn, and the validity of various methods of assessment.

• A collection of the most important and influential education myths in one book, with in-depth examinations of each topic
• Focusing on research evidence regarding how people learn and how we can know if learning has taken place, the book provides a highly comprehensive review of the evidence contradicting each belief
• Topics covered include student characteristics related to learning, views of how the learning process works, and issues related to teaching techniques and testing

Introduction ix

Acknowledgments xi

1 Students are accurate judges of how much they know 1

2 Students learn better when teaching methods are matched with their learning styles 11

3 Lecturing is broadly inferior to other teaching methods 25

4 Using PowerPoint in the classroom improves student learning 40

5 Minimally guided instruction is superior to traditional direct instruction 54

6 Rewards always undermine students’ intrinsic motivation 67

7 Multitasking does not inhibit academic performance 81

8 People are either left]brained or right]brained 97

9 There are many independent varieties of intelligence 113

10 Self]esteem improves academic performance 128

11 Repetition is a highly effective study strategy 142

12 Multiple]choice exams are inferior to other exam formats 153

13 Students should not change answers on multiple]choice exams 163

14 Coaching produces large gains in college admission test scores 174

15 Standardized tests do not predict academic performance 184

16 Standardized ability tests are biased against some minority groups 194

Index 207

"Great Myths of Education and Learning is a little gem that should be read by anyone interested in taking an evidence-based approach to education. If you are interested in what the research has to say about how (or how not) to improve education, then this book is for you."
—Richard E. Mayer, 2016. 'Taking an Evidence-Based Approach to Education,' PsycCRITIQUES, November 21, 2016, Vol. 61, No. 47, Article 2

"The author uses excellent judgment in his choice of myths, provides a scholarly review of representative studies, and highlights the pitfalls of relying on common knowledge to make instructional decisions. I applaud the author's commitment to showing the important role of scientific evidence in education."
—Richard E. Mayer, 2016. 'Taking an Evidence-Based Approach to Education,' PsycCRITIQUES, November 21, 2016, Vol. 61, No. 47, Article 2

"The book highlights the crucial relation between psychology and education—with psychology helping to provide scientific evidence relevant to educational practice and education providing realistic problems that spur psychologists to develop better theories of learning."
—Richard E. Mayer, 2016. 'Taking an Evidence-Based Approach to Education,' PsycCRITIQUES, November 21, 2016, Vol. 61, No. 47, Article 2

Jeffrey D. Holmes is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. He teaches courses on general psychology, testing and assessment, research methods, and controversial psychological issues. Dr Holmes has published original research on racial attitudes as well as the teaching of psychology, and has published several book chapters on topics related to the importance of scientific thinking in understanding human behavior. He is the author of Social Psychology: Student Handbook to Psychology (2012).

Can standardized tests predict academic performance? Do PowerPoint presentations improve student learning? Do rewards always undermine student’s intrinsic motivation? Great Myths of Education and Learning reviews the scientific research on a number of widely-held misconceptions pertaining to learning and education, including misconceptions regarding student characteristics, how students learn, and the validity of various methods of assessment. Using empirical evidence regarding how we learn and how we know if learning has taken place, the book unravels widely-held misconceptions, many of which affect teaching practices and administrative policies.

The author focuses on some of the most important and influential myths in this area, providing an in-depth examination of each one, with a comprehensive review of the evidence contradicting each belief., To enhance compatibility with textbooks on educational psychology, topics covered include student characteristics related to learning, views of how the learning process works, and issues related to teaching techniques and testing.

Written engagingly and accessibly for students and lay readers alike, this latest title in the Great Myths series provides a unique introduction to how we learn.