This document summarizes Pedro De Bruyckere's presentation on debunking common myths and misconceptions in education. Some of the main points made are: 1. Popular theories on learning styles and multiple intelligences are not supported by evidence according to research. 2. Percentages and models used to explain concepts like non-verbal communication and memory are often oversimplified. 3. Well-known advocates of certain theories have acknowledged limitations or evidence contradicting the theories. 4. Checking sources critically can uncover surprises and lead to reevaluating previously held beliefs in education.

1. Hello

2. I’m Pedro De Bruyckere,
and this presentation is the story
behind this book:

3. Twitter:
@thebandb
Website:
TheEconomyOfMeaning.com
Book:
 check

4. I started this presentation with a true story about
how I let my students run through the park
based on my belief in learning styles.
(you should have been there, ResearchED is fun)

5. But than I read these books:

7. But also:

8. Very popular,
No evidence!
(Coffield, Moseley, Hall, & Ecclestone, 2004)
Kolb’s
Learning styles

9. Even worse:
differentiation for learning styles has
little to no effect!
(Hattie, 2009, 2012 and quite a lot of others)

10. But it did work! Why?

11. The power of learning.

12. The power of feedback.

13. But also:

14. The power of relationship.

15. And also: mnemonic tricks

16. 2 lessons learned:
1. Don’t trust what you think you know

17. 2 lessons learned:
2. It’s also relevant to know why
something works!

18. Next on my list:

20. Aka: the Loch Ness Monster of Education!

22. Cone of experience =
one of the first theories on
multimedia learning (1946)

23. The pyramid has been debunked…
in 2007.
(Lalley & Miller, 2007)

24. Again 2 lessons learned:
3. Never trust neat percentages!

25. See also:

26. Again 2 lessons learned:
4. Don’t forget to think!

27. But the biggest lesson I learned:
5. Check the sources!

28. Prof. Mehrabian

29. Is ninety-three percent of our
communication non-verbal?

30. “Unless a communicator is talking
about their feelings or attitudes,
these equations are not applicable.”
(Mehrabian himself)

31. Do note:
the non-verbal does exist!

32. And what
about
Gardner?

34. Guess who
thinks this could be a myth?

35. Gardner:
“A myth that irritates me is that
people place my intelligences on the
same foot- ing as learning styles.
Learning styles say something about
how people approach everything they
do. If you are good at planning,
people expect you to have a plan for
everything you do. My own research
and observations lead me to suspect
that this is a wrong assumption.“
(Gardner in 1997)

36. Oh, and btw:

37. Talent ≠ intelligence
(Waterhouse, 2006)

38. All good things come in threes?

39. Maslow

43. Lesson 6: An image helps to convince!
(Newman, et al., 2012)

44. Lesson 6: An
image helps to
convince!
(Newman, et al., 2012)

45. Checking the sources
can also be very surprising…

48. And while talking TED…

49. What about him?
 Sir Ken Robinson

50. Does school kill creativity?

51. This study does exist.
(Land & Jarman, 1993)

52. But uses
a narrow definition of creativity.
(Sawyer, 2012)

53. “School kills creativity”
does sound like:
“Society corrupts the child”
(De Bruyckere ,Struyf & Kavadias, 2015)

55. Better question imho:
does school foster creativity enough?

56. 6 lessons learned,
many more followed…

57. E.g.:

58. And:
maybe – one day –
cream pies or hot fudge
may be declared healthy…

60. So to conclude: what I haven’t said!?

61. Be a boring teacher.
Do:
Do vary, be concrete.

62. People don’t differ
Not in learning style,
but they do differ in prior knowledge and interests.

63. Stop trying and (re)searching?
There is a still a lot to discover.

64. Thank you!
@thebandb
TheEconomyOfMeaning.com
Pedro De Bruyckere