WEBVTT - What Are the Most-Believed Myths About Our Brains?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogel bomb here. Considering the popularity of brain teasers

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<v Speaker 1>and brain training apps, you'd think that people would know

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<v Speaker 1>quite a bit about the brain's role in education, But

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<v Speaker 1>according to a recent study, the general public and even

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<v Speaker 1>educators have a hard time squashing misconceptions about the brain

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<v Speaker 1>and learning. For instance, many of the research participants believed

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<v Speaker 1>that students brains shrink without sufficient water and the kids

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<v Speaker 1>are less attentive after devouring sugary treats. Both of these

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<v Speaker 1>statements are totally false, by the way. The brains behind

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<v Speaker 1>the study, published in the journal Frontiers of Psychology, gave

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<v Speaker 1>a survey featuring thirty two true or false brain related

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<v Speaker 1>statements to three different groups of people, educators, the general public,

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<v Speaker 1>and people with high neuroscience exposure, that is, those who

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<v Speaker 1>had taken many college level neuroscience courses. Of those thirty

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<v Speaker 1>two statements, the researchers focused on seven common myths that

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<v Speaker 1>stem from what they call single explanatory factors, that's ones

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<v Speaker 1>that reduce the complexity of human behavior to a single explanation.

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<v Speaker 1>Those seven myths are the following, and note these are

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<v Speaker 1>total myths one that individuals learn better when they receive

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<v Speaker 1>information in their preferred learning style. Two that children have

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<v Speaker 1>learning styles that are dominated by particular senses. Three that

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<v Speaker 1>a common sign of dyslexia is seeing letters backwards. Four

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<v Speaker 1>that listening to classical music increases children's reasoning ability. Five

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<v Speaker 1>that children are less attentive after consuming sugary drinks and

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<v Speaker 1>or snacks. Six that some of us are left brained

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<v Speaker 1>and some are right brained, and that this helps explain

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<v Speaker 1>differences in learning, and seven that we only use ten

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<v Speaker 1>percent of our brain. Of the three thousand and forty

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<v Speaker 1>five general public respondents, an average of sixty percent believed

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<v Speaker 1>these brain myths. Fifty of the five hundred and ninety

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<v Speaker 1>educators surveyed believed in them, and forty six percent of

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<v Speaker 1>the two hundred and thirty four neuroscience exposed group believed

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<v Speaker 1>that they were true. Some of the most commonly held

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<v Speaker 1>misconceptions among these seven or those about learning styles, dyslexia,

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<v Speaker 1>and classical music's affect on reasoning. Let's unpack a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of those. There's a theory about learning styles called vac visual,

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<v Speaker 1>auditory and kinesthetic a k A. Tactile. The vac theory

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<v Speaker 1>suggests that students have a primary way of grasping information visually, auditorially,

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<v Speaker 1>or kinesthetically. The myth is that some students may not

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<v Speaker 1>learn as effectively if their style is not emphasized. Of

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<v Speaker 1>public respondents believed this myth, in addition to seventy percent

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<v Speaker 1>of teachers and seventy eight percent of people educated in neuroscience,

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<v Speaker 1>and of the participating educators believed in the Mozart effect,

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<v Speaker 1>the idea that kids spatial reasoning skills improve when they

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<v Speaker 1>tune into classical music. However, these myths both hit sour

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<v Speaker 1>notes research does not corroborate these beliefs. The researchers did

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<v Speaker 1>find that having a graduate degree, taking neuroscience courses, having

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<v Speaker 1>exposure to peer reviewed science, and being younger all helped

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<v Speaker 1>when it came to telling neuroscience fact from fiction, but

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<v Speaker 1>those factors didn't completely help. Lead study author Lauren McGrath

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<v Speaker 1>said in a press release. The myths that respondence with

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<v Speaker 1>neuroscience experience believed were related to learning and behavior and

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<v Speaker 1>not the brain, so their training in neuroscience doesn't necessarily

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<v Speaker 1>translate to topics in psychology or education. Since many school

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<v Speaker 1>districts put time and resources towards pegogical techniques based on

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<v Speaker 1>these myths. The researchers suggest that this study may help

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<v Speaker 1>neuroscientists and educators work together to come up with cross

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<v Speaker 1>disciplinary training modules that provide more accurate information and thus

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<v Speaker 1>better education for our students and better understanding of ourselves.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Shelley Danzy and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang with kind engineering assistance I Ramsey Youngt. For

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other brainy topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>our home planet, how stuff Works dot com