Within Mythcraft
Can Teacher Training Reduce Education Myths?
Specific, evidence-based interventions can reduce belief in education myths when they explain the problem clearly.
On this page
- What correction studies test
- Why specificity matters
- Designing better professional learning
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Introduction
Teacher training can reduce belief in education myths, but the strongest evidence points to a narrow kind of correction: it must name the misconception, explain why it is wrong, and replace it with a clearer account of how learning works. Simply telling teachers to “think critically” or offering generic neuroscience facts is weaker. Studies on neuromyths and educational misconceptions suggest that refutation texts, conceptual-change materials, and targeted professional learning can shift beliefs, although effects may fade and do not automatically change classroom practice. PubMed [Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersInterventions to Dispel Neuromyths in Educational Settings…by L Rousseau · 2021 · Cited by 74 — Neuromyths are misconceptions…
This matters because myths such as “learning styles”, “left-brain and right-brain learners”, and fixed views of ability can shape lesson planning, pupil labelling and school training priorities. The practical question is not whether debunking is possible. It is what kind of correction is specific enough, credible enough and reinforced enough to survive beyond a one-off training session.
What correction studies actually test
Much of the direct evidence comes from research on neuromyths: popular but unsupported claims about the brain and learning. Common examples include the belief that pupils learn best when taught in their preferred visual, auditory or kinaesthetic style, or that people are meaningfully divided into “left-brained” and “right-brained” learners. Reviews of learning styles have found that the evidence needed to justify matching teaching to diagnosed learning styles is lacking, despite the idea’s popularity in education. [PubMed]pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPubMedThe effectiveness of refutation texts to correct…by M Ferrero · 2020 · Cited by 66 — The results of Experiment 1 indicate that r…
Correction studies usually test whether teachers or trainee teachers reduce their endorsement of such claims after reading or hearing a correction. The most important design is the refutation text. A refutation text does three things: it states the misconception, explicitly rejects it, and explains the more accurate alternative. For example, a weak correction says, “Learning styles are not evidence-based.” A stronger correction says, “Students may prefer certain formats, but studies do not show that matching instruction to a preferred sensory style improves learning; what matters more is matching the method to the content and using effective strategies such as retrieval practice, spacing and clear explanation.”
A 2020 study of in-service teachers found that refutation texts could correct false educational beliefs, including strongly endorsed ones, but also found limits: effects could be temporary and did not necessarily change teachers’ intention to use myth-based practices. [PubMed]pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPubMedThe effectiveness of refutation texts to correct…by M Ferrero · 2020 · Cited by 66 — The results of Experiment 1 indicate that r… Another study with pre-service teachers similarly treated correction as conceptual change: the goal was not just to lower agreement with a myth, but to help teachers reorganise their explanation of learning. [PMC]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPMCAn Attempt to Correct Erroneous Ideas Among TeacherPMCAn Attempt to Correct Erroneous Ideas Among Teacher
Why specificity matters more than a general warning
The evidence points to a clear lesson for teacher training: vague myth-busting is not enough. Many education myths survive because they contain a “kernel of truth”. Pupils do have preferences. Brains do show specialisation. Motivation does matter. The myth emerges when that partial truth is stretched into an unsupported classroom prescription. A correction therefore has to separate the true part from the false leap. [Frontiers]frontiersin.orgFrontiersInterventions to Dispel Neuromyths in Educational Settings…by L Rousseau · 2021 · Cited by 74 — Neuromyths are misconceptions…
Specificity helps in three ways.
First, it prevents replacement by another oversimplified myth. If teachers are told only that learning styles are false, they may conclude that pupil differences do not matter. A better correction says that preferences are real but are not reliable guides for tailoring instruction; teachers should instead vary representations when the subject matter calls for it and use learning strategies with stronger evidence.
Second, it makes the correction usable. Professional learning has to answer the practical question teachers face on Monday morning: “What should I do instead?” Without an alternative, the old idea may remain attractive because it is simple, memorable and already embedded in resources.
Third, it reduces defensiveness. Teachers may have encountered myths during undergraduate study, commercial training, school CPD or peer advice. A correction that treats the belief as a common, understandable error is more likely to support learning than one that frames it as professional ignorance. Recent work on educational myths among teachers found that myths can be widespread and that undergraduate education may be one route through which they spread, making teacher education itself part of the correction problem. [Nature]nature.comSource details in endnotes.
What seems to work best
The strongest correction formats share a few practical features.
They explicitly refute the myth.
Corrections are weaker when they merely present accurate information and hope readers infer the contradiction. Refutation texts work because they make the conflict visible: “This claim sounds plausible, but this is why the evidence does not support it.”
They explain the mechanism.
A useful correction does not just say that a practice lacks evidence. It explains why the myth seemed convincing and why the better account fits the evidence. In learning styles, the better account distinguishes preference, ability, task demands and memory.
They offer a replacement practice.
Teachers need an alternative route, such as retrieval practice, worked examples, spaced review, adaptive questioning, explicit vocabulary teaching or formative assessment. The correction is more likely to matter when it redirects effort towards better-supported decisions.
They are revisited over time.
A one-off debunking session may reduce belief immediately but fade later. Research on refutation texts and recent work on conceptual-change podcasts and texts suggest that effects can persist for weeks, but durability remains a key design issue. [ScienceDirect]sciencedirect.comSource details in endnotes.
They target the actual misconception held.
A 2026 study on personalised refutation texts suggests that personalised corrections can support conceptual change when misconceptions are present, but may risk increasing familiarity when the misconception is repeatedly named for people who did not strongly hold it. [Springer]link.springer.comSource details in endnotes. The practical implication is simple: diagnose beliefs before correcting them.
The gap between belief change and classroom change
Reducing belief is not the same as changing practice. A teacher may stop agreeing with a myth on a survey while still using old worksheets, commercial labels or inherited lesson-planning templates. This is one reason correction studies should not be overclaimed. The 2020 refutation-text research found belief change, but not a clear improvement in teachers’ intentions to abandon myth-based practices. [White Rose Research Online]eprints.whiterose.ac.ukXAP 2018 0313 R1 ms acceptedversionXAP 2018 0313 R1 ms acceptedversion
There are several reasons for this gap. Some myth-based practices are built into school routines. Some are reinforced by commercial products. Some feel inclusive, even when the underlying theory is weak. Learning styles, for example, can feel respectful because it appears to recognise pupil individuality. Removing the label without offering a better way to address differences can feel like taking away support.
Good professional learning therefore needs two layers. The first is correction: “This belief is not supported.” The second is implementation: “Here is what replaces it in planning, feedback, assessment and pupil talk.” Without the second layer, myth correction risks becoming an interesting training activity rather than a change in professional judgement.
Designing better professional learning
A sensible teacher-training sequence starts with the decisions teachers actually make. Rather than opening with a list of myths, it can begin with a practical scenario: a department is planning revision lessons, a trainee is asked to identify pupils’ learning styles, or a school is considering a brain-based commercial programme. The correction then becomes relevant because it changes a real decision.
A strong professional learning design would usually include:
- Pre-check beliefs so the training targets misconceptions actually present in the group.
- Use concise refutation texts that name the myth, reject it and explain the better model.
- Separate truth from overclaim so teachers can see why the myth was appealing.
- Connect to better-supported practices rather than leaving a vacuum.
- Revisit the correction in coaching, planning meetings and resource review.
- Audit materials so old slides, handouts and templates do not continue spreading the myth.
This is especially important because neuromyth beliefs have remained common among educators despite wider public access to neuroscience and learning-science information. Reviews warn that general neuroscience exposure does not automatically protect teachers from myths; in some cases, partial exposure may make brain-based claims sound more credible. [dash.harvard.edu]dash.harvard.eduOpen source on harvard.edu.
What teacher training should avoid
The weakest approach is a one-off “myth-busting” slide deck that treats correction as a quiz. It may be memorable, but it can also turn myths into trivia rather than professional decision problems. Another weak approach is replacing one slogan with another: “learning styles are false, use evidence-based teaching”. That may be accurate in spirit, but it does not tell teachers how to recognise evidence quality or change planning habits.
Training should also avoid implying that all intuitive classroom knowledge is worthless. Teachers often hold myths because the surface version matches something they have genuinely observed: pupils differ, attention varies, motivation matters, and some explanations work better than others. The task is to refine professional judgement, not humiliate practitioners for believing ideas that the education system itself may have promoted.
The practical takeaway
Educational corrections reduce belief when they are specific, explanatory and connected to better alternatives. The evidence is strongest for refutation-based and conceptual-change interventions: they can lower endorsement of myths such as learning styles and other neuromyths, at least in the short term. The harder task is durability and practice change. [PubMed]pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPubMedThe effectiveness of refutation texts to correct…by M Ferrero · 2020 · Cited by 66 — The results of Experiment 1 indicate that r… [ScienceDirect]sciencedirect.comOpen source on sciencedirect.com.
For schools and teacher educators, the lesson is not simply “debunk more myths”. It is to design professional learning that helps teachers replace attractive but unsupported explanations with usable, evidence-informed ones. A correction has done its job only when the old myth no longer feels like the easiest explanation in the room.
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Endnotes
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Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Title: PMCAn Attempt to Correct Erroneous Ideas Among Teacher
Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7581673/ -
Source: nature.com
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-025-05470-y -
Source: sciencedirect.com
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095947522400118X -
Source: link.springer.com
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-026-10116-9 -
Source: dash.harvard.edu
Link: https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstreams/7312037e-932b-6bd4-e053-0100007fdf3b/download -
Source: sciencedirect.com
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211368121000140 -
Source: sciencedirect.com
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211949325000183 -
Source: sciencedirect.com
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211949324000164 -
Source: sciencedirect.com
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211949325000146 -
Source: sciencedirect.com
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0361476X18303035 -
Source: dash.harvard.edu
Link: https://dash.harvard.edu/entities/publication/73120379-3bb5-6bd4-e053-0100007fdf3b -
Source: youtube.com
Title: Debunking Learning Styles And Embracing The Science Of Learning
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED_MdfkPONwSource snippet
Learning Styles - A Complete Myth...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Learning Styles
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_SQrRa73U0Source snippet
Debunked...
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Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31971418/Source snippet
PubMedThe effectiveness of refutation texts to correct...by M Ferrero · 2020 · Cited by 66 — The results of Experiment 1 indicate that r...
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Source: frontiersin.org
Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.719692/fullSource snippet
FrontiersInterventions to Dispel Neuromyths in Educational Settings...by L Rousseau · 2021 · Cited by 74 — Neuromyths are misconceptions...
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Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34721171/ -
Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26162104/ -
Source: eprints.whiterose.ac.uk
Title: XAP 2018 0313 R1 ms acceptedversion
Link: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/153185/2/XAP-2018-0313-R1_ms_acceptedversion.pdf
Additional References
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Source: youtube.com
Title: The Truth About Learning Styles
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUqJp24C-acSource snippet
These videos are relevant because they address the common educational "neuromyth" of learning styles, demonstrating how debunking such mi...
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Source: schoolsallianceforexcellence.co.uk
Link: https://schoolsallianceforexcellence.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Written-Debate-Submission-RGumbs-self-paced.pdf -
Source: researchgate.net
Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352543182_Correcting_Neuromyths_A_Comparison_of_Different_Types_of_Refutations -
Source: scispace.com
Link: https://scispace.com/pdf/educational-neuromyths-and-instructional-practices-the-case-12ess1im50.pdf -
Source: jttshub.co.uk
Link: https://jttshub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Myths_and_Misconceptions_About_Teaching.pdf -
Source: innerdrive.co.uk
Link: https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/combat-neuromyths/ -
Source: efsupit.ro
Link: https://efsupit.ro/images/stories/july2024/Art%20190.pdf -
Source: learningfocused.com
Link: https://learningfocused.com/blogs/effective-teaching-strategies/overcoming-teaching-myths-with-evidence-based-practices?srsltid=AfmBOopo2vvBBX4liOJk2dscSBLlxgY7_EiM1dqmbd4z8m3i0_xOeH8s -
Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/edutopia/posts/-myth-busted-tailoring-instruction-to-students-preferred-learning-styles-has-no-/1040843741414906/ -
Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/etb9ln/teachers_hold_a_considerable_number_of/
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