- 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 leftÂ]brained or rightÂ]brained 97
9 There are many independent varieties of intelligence 113
10 SelfÂ]esteem improves academic performance 128
11 Repetition is a highly effective study strategy 142
12 MultipleÂ]choice exams are inferior to other exam formats 153
13 Students should not change answers on multipleÂ]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
