Taking an educational psychology course improves neuroscience literacy but does not reduce belief in neuromyths

Eye-tracker and fNIRS: Using neuroscientific tools to assess the learning experience during children's educational robotics activities

In technology education, there has been a paradigmatic shift towards student-centered approaches such as learning by doing, constructionism, and experiential learning. Educational robotics allows students to experiment with building and interacting with their creations while also fostering collaborative work. However, understanding the student's response to these approaches is crucial to adapting them during the teaching-learning process. In this sense, neuroscientific tools such as Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Eye-tracker could be useful, allowing the investigation of relevant states experienced by students. Although they have already been used in educational research, their practical relevance in the teaching-learning process has not been extensively investigated. In this perspective article expressing our position, we bring four examples of learning experiences in a robotics class with children, in which we illustrate the usefulness of these tools.

Neuromyths: Misconceptions about neurodevelopment by Italian teachers

BACKGROUND

Neuromyths are commonly held misconceptions about the brain, often generated by a misunderstanding of scientifically established facts. To date, limited research has explored the pervalence of neuromyths about neurodevelopmental disorders in the teacher population.

METHOD

The current study investigated the prevalence of teachers' general and neurodevelopmental neuromyths among 820 Italian teachers.

RESULTS

Italian teachers correctly identified 73% of general neuromyths and 70% of neurodevelopmental neuromyths. The difference between general and neurodevelopmental neuromyths endorsement was significant. Frequency of accessing relevant information emerged as a protective factor. A mediation analysis showed that higher need for cognition was significantly associated with a higher frequency of accessing relevant information about the brain, which in turn led to lower endorsement of neuromyths.

CONCLUSION

In line with our findings, we suggest that teachers can benefit from neuroeducation initiatives aimed to enhance neuroscience literacy in both the initial education and continuous professional development of teachers.

Educational neuromyths and instructional practices: The case of inclusive education teachers in Hong Kong

BACKGROUND

Educational neuromyths are known to exist amongst teachers in Western countries, and some researchers argue that neuromyths may affect classroom teaching.

METHOD

An online survey was designed and distributed to sixty-four Hong Kong inclusive education teachers. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, Hierarchical Multiple Regression, and Thematic analysis were used to analyzed the collected data.

RESULTS

First, there is a relatively low prevalence of neuromyths among Hong Kong teachers. Second, neuromyths were not significantly correlated with inclusive teachers' instructional practices. Third, teachers' general knowledge of the brain was significantly correlated with neuromyths and is a significant predictor of neuromyths. Fourth, the work-related stress of teachers was the main barrier to learning about neuroscience and adopting evidence-based practices in classroom teaching in Hong Kong.

CONCLUSION

Our findings raise awareness of environmental and cultural factors that need to be considered and might affect the prevalence of neuromyths studies in non-WEIRD contexts.

Neuroscience literacy in educators' training programs in Asia: A call to action

The center of learning is the brain and the disciplinary science that examines its structure and functioning, and the nervous system as a whole, is called neuroscience. The assimilation of essential neuroscience-related content by educational systems has gained global interest, given the relevance of learning to education. Recognizing the significance of frontline workers, several governmental agencies and educational institutions have launched initiatives to foster the inclusion of neuroscience literacy in educators' training programs. Their success, however, has depended on collaborative efforts among educators, researchers, and other educational stakeholders, and the process has involved considerable debate. Here, we aim to articulate a rationale to promote neuroscience literacy for educators. In doing so, we revisit prior arguments on the importance of training educators and build up on other reasons to advocate for this kind of endeavor considering cutting-edge research. Following this, we discuss critical elements to advance neuroscience literacy for educators and examine the most important challenges to execute successful initiatives. Finally, we appraise the significance for Asia, reviewing the scholarly literature on educators' prior experiences, and highlight the case of Singapore as an exemplar initiative that catalizes human capital, infrastructure, and strategies to advance neuroscience literacy. We conclude by arguing that governmental agencies and educational institutions should strengthen their efforts to accommodate their programmatic plans and agendas to embrace neuroscience literacy in educators' training programs. This global trend has arrived to stay.

Neuromyths about neurodevelopmental disorders in Chilean teachers

Misconceptions about how the brain works (neuromyths) are shown to be common among educators, but little is known about neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) neuromyths. Here, we explored the prevalence of both general and neurodevelopmental disorders neuromyths in Chilean teachers and other educational professionals. One hundred forty-four participants answered an online neuroscience knowledge, interest, and training questionnaire. Regression analysis showed that both teachers and non-teachers endorsed more neuromyths related to NDDs compared to general neuromyths and that familiarity with the NDDs but not necessarily neuroscience training or interest plays an important role in the endorsement of these neuromyths. The findings indicate that dyscalculia is the least known neurodevelopmental disorder. Although inclusion politics demand training for all educational actors, the current findings suggest effective translational efforts between neuroscience and education fields should continue.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Neuroscience and Education—Do Freshmen and Advanced Students Differ in Their Ability to Identify Myths?

Addressing and creating awareness on the topic of neuromyths in educational sciences has increased in recent years. We know very little about how widespread the belief in neuromyths is among pre-service teacher students and whether this belief affects their subsequent approach to teaching and consequently possibly also the performance of their students. The aim of the study was to analyze students’ belief in neuromyths, focusing on differences between freshmen ( N  = 82) and advanced students ( N  = 74) studying in pre-service teacher education. Using a questionnaire approach, students had to judge whether given statements were objectively wrong (i.e., “Neuromyths”) or objectively correct (i.e., “Neurofacts”). They could also choose the option “I don’t know”. For each statement, we asked students to indicate how self-confident they were about their answer. Furthermore, students’ self-assessment of their need for cognition and ability-related academic self-concept was measured. Results reveal no significant difference between freshmen and advanced students for identifying the myths correctly, but a significant difference for identifying the facts correctly, showing that freshmen identified slightly more facts correctly than advanced students. Self-confidence plays an important role here, as we see that within the master students, students with high self-confidence values identified more facts correctly.

The Prevalence of Educational Neuromyths among Hungarian Pre-Service Teachers

Teachers with poor neuroliteracy fail to distinguish scientific evidence from neuromyths (NM), which might lead to the implementation of pseudoscientific educational methods. The prevalence of NM and general knowledge about the brain (GKAB) among in-service and pre-service teachers has been assessed in multiple countries, but no such study has been performed in Hungary. The aims of this study were to (1) assess the neuroliteracy of pre-service teachers, (2) compare the results with those of previous studies and (3) analyze the factors influencing neuroliteracy. Our sample included 822 pre-service teachers from 12 Hungarian universities. We developed a survey including 10 NM and 13 GKAB statements, adapted from a widely used questionnaire. The average rate of incorrect answers to NM was 56.9%, whereas the average rate of correct answers to GKAB was 70.9%. Male gender and frequency of using Facebook as the primary information source about neuroscience were the only predictors of NM acceptance. In comparison with other studies, the Hungarian pre-service teachers had the second highest endorsement of NM. The most prevalent NM were linked to motor functions, which might be related to the widespread use and promotion of motor therapies in Hungary.

Prevalence of neuromyths among psychology students: small differences to pre-service teachers

Neuroscience will possibly aid the educational practice but neuromyths are prevalent worldwide. Certain misconceptions about learning, memory and the brain are prevalent in different groups and hard to dispel. Bridging the gap might be too far. However, Psychology may serve as a bridge between these distant fields. The present study examined neuromyth endorsement in psychology students. An online questionnaire based on 20 neuromyths and 20 neurofacts was used. Additionally, neuroscience exposure at university and media exposure was assessed. The sample consisted of psychology students (N = 116) in Austria and was compared to a teacher-training sample. The different groups were compared using Signal Detection Theory, Chi-square test, non-parametric correlation analyses, and independent sample t-test. No correlation between neuroscience exposure at university and leisure time for psychology students at the beginning of their studies could be found. Here, the same misconceptions were among the most prevalent-compared to the teacher-training students sample. Results show significant difference between the groups on discrimination ability and response bias. Although psychology students share the same most prevalent misconceptions, they differ significantly in their amount of agreement. The reported study reveals a better discernment ability and lower response bias on neuromyths in the Psychology students' sample. On the individual item level, they performed better at rejecting some neuromyths than pre-service teachers. In conclusion, some neuroscience and pedagogical psychology training improves the ability to discriminate between true and false statements. Therefore, directly addressing these misconceptions within the study program-Teacher Training and Psychology-could reduce neuromyth endorsement.

Tenacious educational neuromyths: Prevalence among teachers and an intervention

BACKGROUND

Several studies have revealed a common high prevalence of educational neuromyths among teachers from different countries. However, only one intervention aimed at reducing these beliefs among in-service teachers has been reported to date, and it was conducted in a non-naturalistic setting.

PROCEDURE

In the present study, we administered a survey to measure the prevalence of common neuromyths in a large sample (n = 807) of primary and secondary teachers from 203 schools across Catalonia (Spain), and then we evaluated the impact that a 15-hour online course on neuroscience had on a sample of them as compared to a control group.

MAIN FINDINGS

Results showed an initial distribution of neuromyth beliefs similar to those of previous studies and a large effect of the intervention on reducing their prevalence shortly after the training and in the long term.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide evidence that an intervention addressed to in-service teachers that is low-cost and easy to implement can cast corrective effects that persist over time in neuromyth beliefs.

Refuting misconceptions in an introductory psychology course for preservice teachers

This experimental field study (pre-post-follow-up design) with 184 student teachers examined the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce misconceptions about psychology within an introductory psychology course. For this purpose, over the course’s one-semester duration, all students attended six lectures and, in addition, worked individually on six assignments in between. In both, the intervention and control group, assignments covered the same learning content but assignments for the intervention group particularly addressed six topic-related misconceptions, and were designed to bring about conceptual change. These assignments included refutational texts and other tasks that triggered conceptual inconsistency and emphasized students’ use of scientific concepts. Students in the control group completed assignments designed for rehearsal of and elaboration on the topics at hand but were not exposed to the respective misconceptions. The findings demonstrate the efficacy of this slight modification of tasks in reducing students’ misconceptions around psychology. While the groups did not differ in exam performance, the positive associations found between exam performance and high-confidence rejection of psychological myths, and their correlation with evaluativist epistemic beliefs and critical thinking, underline the importance of early interventions in teacher education with the aim of dispelling misconceptions about psychology.

Effect of a Science of Learning Course on Beliefs in Neuromyths and Neuroscience Literacy

Misconceptions about the brain (neuromyths) among educators have been found across different countries, but little has been done to dispel them. The present study assessed the effect of a one-year Science of Learning (SoL) course on neuroscience literacy and beliefs in neuromyths in a sample of Chilean pre-service teachers. An experimental group of pre-service teachers, who took the SoL course as part of their university training, and a control group were needed for the study. Participants in both groups completed an online survey three times during the year (beginning, middle and end of year). The results showed that participants in both groups responded correctly to most assertions but held major misconceptions about the brain (Time 1), in line with previous studies. Regarding neuroscience literacy, participants in the experimental and control groups did not differ significantly at Time 1, but the experimental group showed significantly better performance than the control group at Time 2 and Time 3. Unlike neuroscience literacy, the results in neuromyth beliefs did not differ significantly by group at Time 1 and Time 2; however, at Time 3, the experimental group showed a significant decline in neuromyth beliefs. Overall, these results suggest that the SoL course significantly improved overall neuroscience literacy and reduced neuromyth belief among pre-service teachers, but the effect of the intervention was small.

Neuroscience Knowledge and Endorsement of Neuromyths among Educators: What Is the Scenario in Brazil?

The field of neuroscience has seen significant growth and interest in recent decades. While neuroscience knowledge can benefit laypeople as well as professionals in many different areas, it may be particularly relevant for educators. With the right information, educators can apply neuroscience-based teaching strategies as well as protect themselves and their students against pseudoscientific ideas and products based on them. Despite rapidly growing sources of available information and courses, studies show that educators in many countries have poor knowledge of brain science and tend to endorse education-related neuromyths. Poor English skills and fewer resources (personal, institutional and governmental) may be additional limitations in Latin America. In order to better understand the scenario in Latin America’s largest country, we created an anonymous online survey which was answered by 1634 individuals working in education from all five regions of Brazil. Respondents stated whether they agreed with each statement and reported their level of confidence for each answer. Significant differences in performance were observed across regions, between educators living in capital cities versus the outskirts, between those teaching in private versus public schools, and among educators teaching different levels (pre-school up to college/university). We also observed high endorsement of some key neuromyths, even among groups who performed better overall. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to conduct a detailed analysis of the profile of a large group of educators in Brazil. We discuss our findings in terms of efforts to better understand regional and global limitations and develop methods of addressing these most efficiently.

Unveiling teachers' beliefs on visual cognition and learning styles of deaf and hard of hearing students: A Portuguese-Swedish study

Vision is considered a privileged sensory channel for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students to learn, and, naturally, they recognize themselves as visual learners. This assumption also seems widespread among schoolteachers, which led us to analyse the intersection between teachers' beliefs on deaf and hard of hearing students' academic achievement, visual skills, attentional difficulties, and the perceived importance of image display in class. An online survey was designed to analyse the beliefs of the schoolteachers about the deaf and hard of hearing students learning in educational settings from Portugal and Sweden. Participated 133 teachers, 70 Portuguese and 63 Swedish, from the preschool to the end of mandatory education (ages 3-18) with several years of experience. The content analysis and the computed SPSS statistical significance tests reveal that surveyed teachers believe that deaf and hard of hearing students have better visual skills when compared with their hearing peers yet show divergent beliefs about visual attentional processes. Within the teachers' perceptions on learning barriers to DHH students, the distractibility and cognitive effort factors were highlighted, among communicational difficulties in class. Conclusions about the prevalence of learning misconceptions in teachers from both countries analysed, corroborate previous studies on neuromyths in education, and bring novelty to Deaf Education field. The work of translation of scientific knowledge, teacher training updating, and partnership between researchers and educators are also urgently needed in special education.

Identifying knowledge important to teach about the nervous system in the context of secondary biology and science education-A Delphi study

Teaching about the nervous system has become a challenging task in secondary biology and science education because of the fast development in the field of neuroscience. A major challenge is to determine what content to teach. Curricula goals are often too general to guide instruction, and information about the nervous system has become overwhelming and diverse with ubiquitous relevance in society. In addition, several misconceptions and myths are circulating in educational communities causing world-wide confusion as to what content is correct. To help teachers, textbook authors, and curricula developers in this challenging landscape of knowledge, the aim of the present study is to identify the expert view on what knowledge is important for understanding the nervous system in the context of secondary biology and science education. To accomplish this, we have conducted a thematic content analysis of textbooks followed by a Delphi study of 15 experts in diverse but relevant fields. The results demonstrate six curriculum themes including gross anatomy and function, cell types and functional units, the nerve signal, connections between neurons, when nerve signals travel through networks of neurons, and plasticity in the nervous system, as well as 26 content principles organized in a coherent curriculum progression from general content to more specific content. Whereas some of the principles clarify and elaborate on traditional school biology knowledge, others add new knowledge to the curriculum. Importantly, the new framework for teaching about the nervous system presented here, meets the needs of society, as expressed by recent international policy frameworks of OECD and WHO, and it addresses common misconceptions about the brain. The study suggests an update of the biology and science curriculum.

On Neuroeducation: Why and How to Improve Neuroscientific Literacy in Educational Professionals

New findings from the neurosciences receive much interest for use in the applied field of education. For the past 15 years, neuroeducation and the application of neuroscience knowledge were seen to have promise, but there is presently some lack of progress. The present paper states that this is due to several factors. Neuromyths are still prevalent, and there is a confusion of tongues between the many neurodisciplines and the domains of behavioral and educational sciences. Second, a focus upon cognitive neuroimaging research has yielded findings that are scientifically relevant, but cannot be used for direct application in the classroom. A third factor pertains to the emphasis which has been on didactics and teaching, whereas the promise of neuroeducation for the teacher may lie more on pedagogical inspiration and support. This article states that the most important knowledge and insights have to do with the notion of brain plasticity; the vision that development is driven by an interaction between a person's biology and the social system. This helps individuals to select and process information, and to adapt to the personal environment. The paper describes how brain maturation and neuropsychological development extend through the important period of adolescence and emergent adulthood. Over this long period, there is a major development of the Executive Functions (EFs) that are essential for both cognitive learning, social behavior and emotional processing and, eventually, personal growth. The paper describes the basic neuroscience knowledge and insights - or "neuroscientific literacy" - that the educational professional should have to understand and appreciate the above-described themes. The authors formulate a proposal for four themes of neuroscience content "that every teacher should know." These four themes are based on the Neuroscience Core Concepts formulated by the Society for Neuroscience. The authors emphasize that integrating neuroscientific knowledge and insights in the field of education should not be a one-way street; attempts directed at improving neuroscientific literacy are a transdisciplinary undertaking. Teacher trainers, experts from the neuroscience fields but also behavioral scientists from applied fields (notable applied neuropsychologists) should all contribute to for the educational innovations needed.

The Teaching Pattern of Law Majors Using Artificial Intelligence and Deep Neural Network Under Educational Psychology

With the increasing attention to the cultivation of legal talents, a new teaching model has been explored through artificial intelligence (AI) technology under educational psychology, which focuses on improving learning initiative, teaching methods, and teaching quality of students. First, the application of AI and deep neural network (DNN) algorithms are reviewed in education, and the advantages and disadvantages of traditional learning material recommendation algorithms are summarized. Then, a personalized learning material recommendation algorithm is put forward based on DNN, together with an adaptive learning system based on DNN. Finally, the traditional user-based collaborative filtering (UserCF) model and lifelong topic modeling (LTM) algorithm are introduced as the control group to verify the performance of the proposed recommendation system. The results show that the best learning rate of model training is 0.0001, the best dropout value is 0.5, and the best batch size is 32. The proposed personalized learning resource recommendation method based on deep learning (DL) still has good stability under various training data scales. The personalized test questions of recommended students are moderately difficult. It is easier to recommend materials according to the acquisition of knowledge points and the practicability of the recommended test questions of students. Personalized learning material recommendation algorithm based on AI can timely feedback needs of students, thereby improving the effect of classroom teaching. Using the combination of AI and DL algorithms in teaching design, students can complete targeted personalized learning assignments, which is of great significance to cultivate high-level legal professionals.

Interventions to Dispel Neuromyths in Educational Settings-A Review

Neuromyths are misconceptions about the brain and learning, for instance Tailoring instruction to students' preferred “learning styles” (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic) promotes learning. Recent reviews indicate that the high prevalence of beliefs in neuromyths among educators did not decline over the past decade. Potential adverse effects of neuromyth beliefs on teaching practices prompted researchers to develop interventions to dispel these misconceptions in educational settings. This paper provides a critical review of current intervention approaches. The following questions are examined: Does neuroscience training protect against neuromyths? Are refutation-based interventions effective at dispelling neuromyths, and are corrective effects enduring in time? Why refutation-based interventions are not enough? Do reduced beliefs in neuromyths translate in the adoption of more evidence-based teaching practices? Are teacher professional development workshops and seminars on the neuroscience of learning effective at instilling neuroscience in the classroom? Challenges, issues, controversies, and research gaps in the field are highlighted, notably the so-called “backfire effect,” the social desirability bias, and the powerful intuitive thinking mode. Future directions are outlined.

A Slippery Myth: How Learning Style Beliefs Shape Reasoning about Multimodal Instruction and Related Scientific Evidence

The learning style myth is a commonly held myth that matching instruction to a student's "learning style" will result in improved learning, while providing mismatched instruction will result in suboptimal learning. The present study used a short online reasoning exercise about the efficacy of multimodal instruction to investigate the nature of learning styles beliefs. We aimed to: understand how learning style beliefs interact with beliefs about multimodal learning; characterize the potential complexity of learning style beliefs and understand how this short exercise might influence endorsements of learning styles. Many participants who believed in the learning style myth supported the efficacy of multimodal learning, and many were willing to revise their belief in the myth after the exercise. Personal experiences and worldviews were commonly cited as reasons for maintaining beliefs in learning styles. Findings reveal the complexity of learning style beliefs, and how they interact with evidence in previously undocumented ways.

Neuroscience Concepts Changed Teachers' Views of Pedagogy and Students

Advances in neuroscience reveal how individual brains change as learning occurs. Translating this neuroscience into practice has largely been unidirectional, from researchers to teachers. However, how teachers view and incorporate neuroscience ideas in their classroom practices remains relatively unexplored. Previously fourteen non-science teachers participated in a 3-week three credit graduate course focusing on foundational ideas in neuroscience. The current work was undertaken to gain insight into if and how individual teachers choose to later apply the proposed set of educational neuroscience concepts (ENCs) in their classrooms. This qualitative follow-up study examined commonalities in how teachers of diverse ages and subjects utilized their new neuroscience understandings. To this end, a year after the course, all participants assessed their perceived usefulness of the ENCs in a survey. Six of those teachers permitted classroom observations and participated in interviews that focused on how the ENCs may have influenced their lesson planning and teaching. The survey revealed that irrespective of subject areas or grade levels taught, teachers found the ENCs useful as organizing principles for their pedagogy now and in the future. Overall teachers estimated that the ENCs’ influence on lesson design had increased from 51% prior to the course to an estimated 90% for future lessons. A cross-case analysis of classroom observations and interviews revealed how teachers used ENCs to inform their pedagogical decisions, organize actions in their classroom, influence their understanding of students, and respond to individual contexts. Teachers recognized the importance of student agency for engaging them in the learning process. The ENCs also offered teachers explanations that affirmed known practices or helped justify exploring untried techniques. The foundational neuroscience concepts offered a small group of teachers a lens to reconsider, re-envision and re-design their lessons. Some teachers applied these ideas more broadly or frequently than others. This case study provided insights into how teachers can directly apply neuroscience knowledge to their practice and views of students.

A scoping review of research on neuroscience training for teachers

BACKGROUND

Including neuroscience concepts in teacher training has continued to gain interest. While many studies advocate for this, little is known about currently published research.

METHODS

The framework for a scoping review was followed in order to generate a more comprehensive understanding of current research on neuroscience training for teachers. The present study aims to: (1) describe the scope of existing research; (2) summarize findings; and (3) provide recommendations for future inquiry.

RESULTS

Limited studies and methodological issues prevent strong conclusions from being drawn about the impact of this training although most results are promising.

CONCLUSIONS

This scoping review provides the first comprehensive summary of the existing research on neuroscience training for teachers and discusses a number of considerations for improving future research in this area.

Acceptability of Neuroscientific Interventions in Education

Researchers are increasingly applying neuroscience technologies that probe or manipulate the brain to improve educational outcomes. However, their use remains fraught with ethical controversies. Here, we investigate the acceptability of neuroscience applications to educational practice in two groups of young adults: those studying bioscience who will be driving future basic neuroscience research and technology transfer, and those studying education who will be choosing among neuroscience-derived applications for their students. Respondents rated the acceptability of six scenarios describing neuroscience applications to education spanning multiple methodologies, from neuroimaging to neuroactive drugs to brain stimulation. They did so from two perspectives (student, teacher) and for three recipient populations (low-achieving, high-achieving students, students with learning disabilities). Overall, the biosciences students were more favorable to all neuroscience applications than the education students. Scenarios that measured brain activity (i.e., EEG or fMRI) to assess or predict intellectual abilities were deemed more acceptable than manipulations of mental activity by drug use or stimulation techniques, which may violate body integrity. Enhancement up to the norm for low-achieving students and especially students with learning disabilities was more favorably viewed than enhancement beyond the norm for high-achieving students. Finally, respondents rated neuroscientific applications to be less acceptable when adopting the perspective of a teacher than that of a student. Future studies should go beyond the acceptability ratings collected here to delineate the role that concepts of access, equity, authenticity, agency and personal choice play in guiding respondents' reasoning.

Neuroscience literacy and substance use prevention: How well do young people understand their brain?

ISSUE

Reducing substance use harm in young people is a major public health priority, however, health promotion messages often struggle to achieve meaningful engagement. Neuroscience-based teachings may provide an innovative new way to engage young people in credible harm minimisation health promotion. This study aims to evaluate the acceptability and credibility of a series of neuroscience-based drug education animations and investigate neuroscience literacy in young people.

METHODS

Three animations were developed around the impact of alcohol, MDMA and cannabis use on the growing brain, labelled the 'Respect Your Brain' video series. Sixty young people (mean age 21.9 years; 48% female) viewed the animations and completed a 20-minute web-based, self-report survey to provide feedback on the animations and a 19-item neuroscience literacy survey, assessing knowledge and attitudes towards the brain.

RESULTS

The Alcohol, Cannabis and MDMA videos were rated as good or very good by the majority of participants (82%, 89% and 85%, respectively) and all participants wanted to see more 'Respect your Brain' videos. On average the Alcohol, Cannabis and MDMA videos were rated as containing the right level of detail and being interesting, relevant and engaging by the majority of participants (80%, 81% and 83%, respectively). Participants scored an average of 74% in the neuroscience literacy questionnaire, demonstrating some knowledge of brain functioning and positive attitudes towards the brain.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence that age-appropriate, neuroscience-based resources on alcohol, Cannabis and MDMA are engaging and relevant to young people and offer a potential new avenue to reduce alcohol and other drug related harm and promote healthy lifestyle choices in young people.

A cross-sectional study of neuromyths among teachers in a Caribbean nation

BACKGROUND

The current COVID-19 pandemic and proliferation of misinformation regarding science highlights the importance of improving general science literacy. The continued preponderance of neuromyths among educators is of concern, especially in lower- and middle-income countries.

METHOD

Using an adapted questionnaire, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among teachers in a small island developing state in the Caribbean.

RESULTS

Two-thirds of the sample were unable to recognise at least 50% of the myths. Regression analysis demonstrated that higher scores in brain knowledge and exposure to prior teacher-training increased belief in neuromyths. On the other hand, specific in-service training pertaining to educational neuroscience improved scores.

CONCLUSION

Neuromyths are prevalent among teachers and appear to inform their teaching practice. Further research needs to be conducted to explore not just the prevalence of these myths but in what ways they may be impacting teaching and learning outcomes in the classroom.

Angebot, Nutzung und Ertrag von Konzeptwechseltexten zu Neuromythen bei angehenden Biologielehrkräften

Lehrkräftebildung hat das Ziel, Studierende zu Fachleuten für das Lehren und Lernen auszubilden. Empirische Studien zeigen jedoch sowohl bei angehenden als auch praktizierenden Lehrkräften eine hohe Zustimmung zu Fehlvorstellungen zum Thema Gehirn und Lernen – sogenannten Neuromythen. In der vorliegenden Studie wird in einem Mixed-Model-Design (N = 40) mit quantitativen und qualitativen Forschungsmethoden und vor dem theoretischen Hintergrund eines Angebots-Nutzungs-Modells untersucht, inwiefern sich durch eine universitäre Lehrveranstaltung mit Konzeptwechseltexten die Zustimmung angehender Biologielehrkräfte zu Neuromythen verändern lässt. Dazu wurde ein Seminar entwickelt und durchgeführt, in dem neun Konzeptwechseltexte eingesetzt wurden. Quantitative Daten wurden zu drei Messzeitpunkten mittels Fragebogen erhoben, qualitative Daten semesterbegleitend mittels offener Aufgaben zu Konzeptwechseltexten. Durch die systematische Verschränkung der Daten wurden Gelingensbedingungen für den Ertrag des Lernangebots geprüft. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass angehende Biologielehrkräfte Neuromythen nicht nur zustimmen, sondern fachlich nicht angemessene und subjektiv-biografische Argumente für Neuromythen nennen. Trotz identifizierter Optimierungsmöglichkeiten bei Angebot und Nutzung der Konzeptwechseltexte für/durch die Studierenden zeigen die quantitativen Ergebnisse, dass sich die Zustimmung zu Neuromythen durch das Seminar mit Konzeptwechseltexten nachhaltig und mit mittleren bis hohen Effektstärken reduzieren lässt. Die qualitativen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Argumente angehender Lehrkräfte für Neuromythen breit gestreut sind und nur zu 37–76 % mit den Inhalten der konzipierten Konzeptwechseltexte übereinstimmen. Die Nachbereitung der Konzeptwechseltexte durch die Studierenden verblieb in vielen Fällen auf niedrigem Niveau. Passung des Lehr-Lern-Materials sowie Nachbereitungsniveau erwiesen sich jedoch nicht als Gelingensbedingungen für den Ertrag des Lernangebots. Insgesamt stützen die Ergebnisse, dass das Aufgreifen und Reflektieren von Fehlvorstellungen eine gewinnbringende Perspektive für die Lehrkräftebildung darstellt.

The Persistence of Neuromyths in the Educational Settings: A Systematic Review

Neuroscience influences education, and these two areas have converged in a new field denominated “Neuroeducation.” However, the growing interest in the education–brain relationship does not match the proper use of research findings. In 2007, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned of the misunderstandings about the brain among teachers, labeling them as neuromyths. The main objective here is to observe the prevalence of the neuromyths in educators over time. After two decades of publications of research on neuromyths among in-service or prospective teachers, this work presents a systematic scientific review. To select the articles, we used the words: “teachers,” “preservice teachers,” “neuromyths” combined with the Boolean data type “and.” The search was filtered according to the following criteria: (a) identifiable author, (b) written in English, Spanish, French, Italian, or Portuguese, (c) word neuromyth in title, abstract, or keywords, (d) research with a participant's survey, (e) sample focused on educators, (f) peer-review publication index in JCR, SJR, or ESCI. The documents were found through Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Dialnet, ProQuest, EBSCO-host, and Google Scholar. After the search, 24 articles were identified as being of sufficiently high quality for this systematic review. This result highlights that neuromyths are still the subject of attention almost two decades after their definition. The findings present neuromyths as the consequence of a lack of scientific knowledge, a communicative gap between scientists and teachers, and the low-quality information sources consulted by teachers. In addition, the data on protectors and predictors of neuromyths is inconsistent. There is also no standard scientific methodology nor a guideline to determine a new neuromyth. The results show the need to improve the scientific content in higher education and the importance of in-service teacher training. This research justifies the requirement for university professors to be active researchers and to establish a close link with educators from other fields and levels. Neuroeducation will be the bridge that unites scientific knowledge and practical application in education, with a rigorous, standard method for the entire scientific-educational community.

An Attempt to Correct Erroneous Ideas Among Teacher Education Students: The Effectiveness of Refutation Texts

There is sound evidence about the high prevalence of misconceptions about education among pre-service teachers. This trend continues after students complete the degree in education and once they are in the exercise of their profession. In fact, several studies show that these misconceptions are widespread among in-service teachers. Erroneous ideas about education may divert material and human resources to poor grounded methods and teaching tools, compromising the quality of education. Strategies to debunk misconceptions among future teachers, who may not have a firm position about many educational issues, might contribute to reversing this trend. The main goal of the present study was to assess the efficacy of refutation texts in the correction of misconceptions among pre-service teachers. As in previous studies with in-service teachers, refutation texts were effective in reducing participants’ endorsement of misconceptions. But this effect was short-lived and did not affect participants’ intention to use educational methods that are based on the misconceptions addressed in the refutation texts.

Contributions of Neuroscience Knowledge to Teachers and Their Practice

While neuroscience has elucidated the mechanisms underpinning learning and memory, accurate dissemination of this knowledge to teachers and educators has been limited. This review focuses on teacher professional development in neuroscience that harnessed the power of active-learning strategies and best educational practices resulting in increased teacher and student understanding of cognition and brain function. For teachers, the experience of learning a novel subject in an active manner enabled them to subsequently teach using similar strategies. Most important, participants viewed neuroscience as a frame for understanding why active-learning pedagogies work to engage and motivate students. Teachers themselves made connections applying neuroscience concepts to understand why learner-centered pedagogies are effective in promoting higher order thinking and deep learning in their students. Teachers planned and embraced pedagogies involving modeling, experimentation, discussion, analysis, and synthesis, increasing classroom cognitive engagement. Comprehending that everyone is in charge of changing their own brains is a tremendously powerful idea that may motivate science and non-science teachers to provide students opportunities to actively engage with content. Neuroscience courses for preservice and in-service teachers, provided as collaborations between scientists and teacher educators, can result in improved science education, pedagogy, and understanding of neuroscience.

Pre-service Science Teachers' Neuroscience Literacy: Neuromyths and a Professional Understanding of Learning and Memory

Transferring current research findings on the topic of learning and memory to “brain-based” learning in schools is of great interest among teachers. However, numerous international studies demonstrate that both pre-service and in-service teachers do not always succeed. Instead, they transfer numerous misconceptions about neuroscience, known as neuromyths, into pedagogical practice. As a result, researchers call for more neuroscience in teacher education in order to create a professional understanding of learning and memory. German pre-service science teachers specializing in biology complete neuroscientific modules (human biology/animal physiology) during their studies because they are expected to teach these topics to their students. Thus, they are required to demonstrate a certain degree of neuroscience literacy. In the present study, 550 pre-service science teachers were surveyed on neuromyths and scientific concepts about learning and memory. Pre-service science teachers’ scientific concepts increased over the course of their training. However, beliefs in neuromyths were independent of participants’ status within teacher education (first-year students, advanced students, and post-graduate trainees). The results showed that 10 neuromyths were endorsed by more than 50% of prospective science teachers. Beliefs in the existence of learning styles (93%) and the effectiveness of Brain Gym (92%) were most widespread. Many myths were endorsed even though a large share of respondents had thematically similar scientific concepts; endorsement of neuromyths was found to be largely independent of professional knowledge as well as theory-based and biography-based learning beliefs about neuroscience and learning. Our results suggest that neuromyths can exist in parallel to scientific concepts, professional knowledge and beliefs and are resistant to formal education. From the perspective of conceptual change theory, they thus exhibit characteristic traits of misconceptions that cannot simply be counteracted with increased neuroscientific knowledge. On the basis of our study’s findings, it can be concluded that new teacher programs considering neuromyths as change-resistant misconceptions are needed to professionalize pre-service science teachers’ neuroscience literacy. For this, an intensive web of exchange between the education field and neuroscientists is required, not just to deploy the latest scientific insights to refute neuromyths on learning and memory, but also to identify further neuromyths.