For as long as I can remember I’ve heard this as a fact. I think this myth persists because it allows people to think: “If I’m only using 10% of my brain, imagine how smart I’d be if I could use the other 90%!” And, like many learning myths, it is part of popular culture … Continue reading Learning Myth #7: We Use Only 10% of Our Brains
It is common for people to describe themselves, or someone they know or work with, as an accomplished multitasker. And while it is certainly possible to walk down the street and chew gum at the same time, cognitive multitasking is not possible. Indeed, even the attempt to do so is detrimental, especially for learners. We … Continue reading Learning Myth #6: So, You Think You Can Multitask?
If you have been following our series on learning myths you know that some “myths” are not really myths but are exaggerations or vendor hype grounded on some level of evidence. When I first saw this claim a few years ago the dial on my myth detector flew off the scale. Surely no one actually … Continue reading Learning Myth #5: People Process Visual Information 60,000 Times Faster Than Text
Does anyone seriously believe this? Unfortunately, yes. We’ve seen countless articles that begin with this premise, as if it were a canonical fact. If we are going to talk about attention span we first need to define what it is. (It’s interesting that none of the aforementioned articles that use the “goldfish” statistic ever actually … Continue reading Learning Myth #4 — Millennials Have the Attention Span of Goldfish
Some Q&A about microlearning: Q: Is microlearning a myth? A: No. Q: Is it being hyped by everyone in the learning community? A: Definitely. Q: Is it being overhyped by many in the learning community? A: For sure. Q: Is it being applied effectively to maximize learning and learning retention? A: Often, no. What Problems … Continue reading Learning Myth #3: Overhyping and Misapplying Microlearning
Many of us in the learning field have encountered the following claim: We remember 10% of what we hear, 50% of what we see and hear, and 90% of what we do. It’s widely believed, but is it true? Unlikely. The claim is based on Dale’s Cone of Experience. We usually encounter it in a … Continue reading Learning Myth #2: Dale’s Cone of Experience
The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve is one of the best-known results in learning theory. The Curve demonstrates that what humans remember after a learning event drops steeply soon after completion of the event. In fact, within a month, they will forget up to 80% of what they have learned: So, what do we mean when we … Continue reading Learning “Myth” #1: Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve
If the profession of cognitive psychology and its application to learning is a science (as some of us think it is or should be), then there needs to be research evidence to back up our claims about which learning strategies work and which do not. Unfortunately, the profession of adult learning is prone to myths, … Continue reading Learning Myths, Pseudo-Myths, Exaggeration and Hype
In our implementation of confidence-based learning we classify each test taker into one of four categories of confidence accuracy: Green -- this is the goal state. The employee is both knowledgeable and confident. Yellow – the employee is knowledgeable, but is not confident in his/her knowledge Orange – the employee is neither knowledgeable nor confident. … Continue reading Low Competence/ High Confidence: There’s a Name for That
In my workshop on the “Science and Practice of Modern Learning” I like to occasionally throw in a learning myth – things we think we know about learning, but that turn out not to have any research basis. One of the most pernicious myths is that of Learning Styles -- the idea that all individuals … Continue reading The Final Nail in the Coffin for Learning Styles?
