Myths About Learning

A myth conveys a truth to those who tell it and hear it, rather than necessarily recording a true event.  Learning  is just   one of the  topics  about which  everyone  has an  opinion  even  though  very few  know  much about  it.   Research has exploded many myths about learning.

YOU COULD LOOK AT THESE ASSUMPTIONS AND INDICATE WHETHER YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE

Children are by nature smart, energetic curious, eager to learn and good at learning.

Learning means teacher, classroom and textbook.

Children learn best when they are happy, active, involved and interested in what they are doing.

Most learning is a result of teaching.

Tests reveal more about teachers those students.

Creative scientists develop from passive learners.

Schools grade and therefore they degrade.

Evaluation is education, education is evaluation.  

A student’s ability to use a concept is more important than the ability to describe it.

What is presented in the lecture is what the student learns.

The odd numbered assumptions are correct but   the even numbered ones are those with which a good teacher/trainer would not agree.

LEARNING PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE EMPHASIZED THAT

A child does not have fixed amount of intelligence. Levels of intelligence depend largely upon their environment the quality and quantity of stimuli that it receives in the first five years. 

Heredity  does put  limits  on a child  intellectual  capacity  but the upper  limit  is so  high  that few,  if any , children ever reach  it. 

Play for a child is not just fun, it is their ordinary and most effective way of learning.

Many parents lavish attention on their child’s physical development but they tend to neglect the child’s mental growth.  This is unfortunate for the intelligence of a child basically established during their first years before they start formal schooling.

IN THE SET OF ASSUMPTIONS GIVEN BELOW, TRY TO LOCATE THE MYTHS

Our world is competitive one and children must be trained to succeed in competitive situation.

Outstanding performance,   drive, ambition and motivation, depend on competing with others.

Competition builds character prepares the young for life in the real world.

Students prefer competitive situations.

Competition builds up confidence and self esteem.

Co-operation among students will lower the performance among gifted students while giving the less gifted a free ride.

 
According to research, all of the above are myths.  It is  important  for teachers and parents  to understand  that a cooperative  goal structure  should be the most  commonly  used  approach  with children .  Experts have suggested figures like 80% cooperative, 10 % competitive and 10% of working alone