Should Every Teacher Hear Every Myth?

Introduction

Should every teacher be exposed to every educational myth in the hope that future misconceptions will be prevented? The evidence suggests a more cautious answer. Personalised correction can be one of the most effective ways to reduce belief in educational myths because it targets misconceptions that teachers actually hold. However, correction is not risk-free. Repeated exposure to myths that were previously unfamiliar can increase their familiarity, and familiar claims often feel more credible than unfamiliar ones. The challenge for professional learning is therefore not simply to debunk myths, but to identify which myths are present, who believes them, and how corrections can be delivered without unintentionally spreading the misconception further. Research on misinformation correction, conceptual change and educational myths increasingly points towards diagnosis-first approaches rather than blanket myth-busting sessions. Springer Nature [Ecker Memory & Cognition Lab]emc-lab.orgPage 6. CORRECTING INACCURATE…Read more…

Why Diagnosis Should Come Before Correction

A common assumption in teacher training is that more myth correction is always better. Yet educational myths are not distributed evenly. Some beliefs are widespread, while others may be unknown to many teachers. Presenting a long catalogue of misconceptions can therefore create an odd situation: participants leave the session having encountered myths they had never previously considered.

This concern reflects a broader finding from misinformation research. People often use familiarity as a shortcut when judging whether a claim is true. Simply hearing a statement repeatedly can make it seem more plausible later, a phenomenon sometimes called the illusory truth effect. Corrections usually overcome this problem, but unnecessary repetition of false claims can still increase familiarity with them. Springer Nature [Ecker Memory & Cognition Lab]emc-lab.orgPage 6. CORRECTING INACCURATE…Read more…

For educational leaders, the practical implication is straightforward. Before designing a correction programme, it helps to establish which misconceptions are actually present in a school, department or training cohort. This can be done through anonymous surveys, discussions of classroom decision-making, or audits of existing teaching materials. A correction aimed at a real misconception has a clear target. A correction aimed at a myth nobody believes may simply introduce a new idea into circulation.

The logic mirrors effective medical treatment: diagnosis comes before intervention. Training becomes more efficient when it addresses misconceptions that genuinely influence planning, assessment or classroom practice rather than attempting to debunk every myth that has ever appeared in education.

When Personalised Refutation Helps

Targeted correction has several advantages over generic myth-busting.

First, it increases relevance. Teachers are more likely to engage with information that addresses decisions they currently make. A discussion of learning styles, for example, has greater impact when participants are actively using learning-style questionnaires or grouping pupils according to presumed sensory preferences than when the concept is merely mentioned as a historical curiosity.

Second, personalised correction can support conceptual change rather than simple rejection. Research on refutation texts shows that corrections work best when they explicitly identify the misconception, explain why it is incorrect and provide a stronger alternative explanation. The goal is not merely to remove a false belief but to replace it with a more useful model of learning. [PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCDebunking educational myths: towards evidence-based…by D Cecilio-Fernandes · 2025 · Cited by 1 — We hope this editorial will increa…

Third, targeted interventions may reduce resistance. The often-cited “backfire effect”, in which correction supposedly strengthens belief in misinformation, appears to be much rarer than originally feared. Large reviews and replication studies have generally found that evidence-based corrections reduce misconceptions more often than they increase them. [PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCCorrection format has a limited role when debunkingPMCby B Swire-Thompson · 2021 · Cited by 79 — The current paper investigated how altering the format of corrections influences people's s… [ScienceDirect]sciencedirect.comSearching for the Backfire Effect: Measurement and Design…by B Swire-Thompson · 2020 · Cited by 418 — A backfire effect is when people…

In education, this means trainers do not need to avoid correction altogether. Instead, they should focus on delivering corrections that are directly relevant, evidence-based and accompanied by practical alternatives. Recent work on educational myths among teachers also suggests that richer explanatory interventions can outperform simple refutation alone, particularly when they connect evidence to realistic educational situations. [Nature]nature.comNatureEducational myths among teachers: prevalence and…by Y Tunga · 2025 · Cited by 1 — Results indicated that educational myths are c…

The Familiarity Risk in Myth Training

The strongest argument for personalisation is not that corrections are dangerous in themselves, but that indiscriminate correction can create unnecessary exposure.

Researchers have long debated the so-called familiarity backfire effect. The original concern was that repeating a myth in order to debunk it could make the myth more memorable than the correction. Over time, people might remember the claim while forgetting that it had been disproved. Skeptical Science [Ecker Memory & Cognition Lab]emc-lab.orgPage 6. CORRECTING INACCURATE…Read more…

More recent evidence suggests that true familiarity backfire effects are uncommon and difficult to reproduce experimentally. Many studies find that corrections remain beneficial even when they repeat the myth, provided the correction is clear and the false claim is explicitly labelled as incorrect. PMC [PLOS]journals.plos.orgPLOSA failure to replicate familiarity or fear-driven backfire effectsby UKH Ecker · 2023 · Cited by 48 — The authors found that repeatin…

Even so, the familiarity problem has not disappeared entirely. Researchers distinguish between a correction that genuinely increases belief and one that is simply less effective than it could have been. A training session packed with dozens of myths may not cause teachers to adopt those myths, but it may dilute attention and increase recognition of claims that participants had never encountered before. [First Draft]firstdraftnews.orgthe psychology of misinformation why its so hard to correctFirst DraftThe psychology of misinformation: Why it's so hard to correct14 Jul 2020 — The familiarity backfire effect describes the fact…

This is particularly relevant in education because many myths have intuitive appeal. Claims about “left-brained learners”, “learning styles” or fixed ability often seem to fit everyday observations. If a correction is brief, vague or poorly remembered, familiarity with the myth may remain while the corrective explanation fades. [My College]my.chartered.collegeMy CollegeEngaging with research and debunking mythsby C Bokhove — This article aims to give an overview of some aspects that come into p…

A Better Design for Myth-Correction Programmes

The evidence points towards several design principles for educational correction efforts:

• Identify misconceptions first. Focus on beliefs that are actually present within the target group.
• Correct fewer myths more thoroughly. Depth is usually more valuable than a long list of brief debunks.
• Provide an alternative explanation. Replacing a misconception is more effective than simply rejecting it.
• Link correction to classroom decisions. Teachers need to know what practice should change and what should replace it.
• Avoid unnecessary repetition. Mention the myth when needed for clarity, but keep attention focused on the accurate explanation.
• Revisit corrections over time. Reinforcement helps prevent the correction from fading while the familiar myth remains memorable. [Skeptical Science]skepticalscience.comThe Debunking Handbook 2020: The elusive backfire effects22 Oct 2020 — Backfire Effect: A backfire effect is where a correction inadverte… [PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCThe backfire effect after correcting misinformation is strongly…by B Swire-Thompson · 2022 · Cited by 111 — The backfire effect is…

The central lesson is that personalised correction is not merely a matter of efficiency. It is also a safeguard against spreading misconceptions unnecessarily. Educational corrections work best when they are aimed at real beliefs held by real teachers, delivered with clear refutations and stronger alternatives, and embedded within the practical realities of teaching rather than presented as a catalogue of myths. [Nature]nature.comNatureEducational myths among teachers: prevalence and…by Y Tunga · 2025 · Cited by 1 — Results indicated that educational myths are c… [PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCCorrecting vaccine misinformation: A failure to replicatePMCby UKH Ecker · 2023 · Cited by 48 — Some have even suggested that this familiarity boost may cause a correction to inadvertently incre…

Amazon book picks

Further Reading

Books and field guides related to Should Every Teacher Hear Every Myth?. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.

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Calling Bullshit

By Carl T. Bergstrom, Jevin D. West

Helps readers evaluate claims without spreading misconceptions.

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Thinking, Fast and Slow

By Daniel Kahneman

Covers familiarity effects and judgment shortcuts relevant to myth correction.

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Factfulness

By Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling et al.

Demonstrates practical approaches to correcting widespread false beliefs.

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The Knowledge Illusion

By Steven Sloman, Philip Fernbach

First published 2017. Subjects: Cognitive psychology, Knowledge, theory of, Knowledge, sociology of, Thought and thinking, Intellect.

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Browse more on Amazon: Calling Bullshit Thinking, Fast and Slow Factfulness

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Endnotes

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