From scientific knowledge to misunderstanding. Prevalence of neuromyths in Ecuadorian students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35362/rie7813241Keywords:
Neuroeducation; neuromyth; education; students; EcuadorAbstract
Objective: To analyze the prevalence of neuromyths in a sample of Ecuadorian students with careers related to education. Methods: We administered a questionnaire to 328 participants in order to evaluate their belief in neuromyths and general knowledge about the brain. Results: 97.87% of the respondents are interested in neurosciences in relation to learning and 91.16% consider that they are relevant in their professional work; However, only 45.12% read periodicals about this and 37.20% have received formal instruction in the subject. On average, the sample failed to identify 56% (SD = 27%) of the neuromyths and correctly answered 54% (SD = 25%) of the general knowledge questions, without showing significant differences by gender. Contrary to the literature, age was the only significant predictor of the belief in neuromyths and interest, reading and instruction negatively predicted general knowledge in neurosciences. Moreover, no significant correlations were found between age, belief in neuromyths and general knowledge in neurosciences. The results obtained with respect to the prevalence of neuromyths are consistent with past research in Latin American and European samples. Conclusions: Neuromyths represent a particularly alarming threat in developing countries and their study is essential for the design of new and better initiatives that contribute to their reduction.
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References
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Hook, C., & Farah, M. (2013). Neuroscience for Educators: What Are They Seeking, and What Are They Finding? Neuroethics, 6, 331–341.
Howard-Jones, P., Ansari, D., De Smedt, B., Laurillard, D., Varma, S., Butterworth, B., . . . Thomas, M. (2016). The Principles and Practices of Educational Neuroscience: Comment on Bowers (2016). Psychological Review, 123(5), 620–627.
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Lilienfeld, S. O. (2007). Psychological Treatments That Cause Harm. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2(1), 53-70. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00029.x
Macdonald, K., Germine, L., Anderson, A., Christodolou, J., & McGrath, L. M. (2017). Dispelling the Myth: Training in Education or Neuroscience Decreases but Does Not Eliminate Beliefs in Neuromyths. Frontiers in Psuchology, 8(1314). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01314
Mancera, L., & Roldan, M. (2018). Potenciando procesos atencionales desde la neuroeducación en la primera infancia. Recuperado de: http://190.131.241.186/bitstream/handle/10823/1131/potenciando%20procesos%20atencionales%20desde%20la%20neuroeducacion.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Minkang, K., & Sankey, D. (2017). Philosophy, neuroscience and pre-service teachers’ beliefs in neuromyths: A call for remedial action. Educational Philosophy and Theory. doi:10.1080/00131857.2017.1395736
Mora, F. (2013). Neuroeducación. Solo se puede aprender aquello que se ama . Alianza.
Norlund, A. (2018, Febrero 8). Busting Neuromyths. Magazine 1866.
OECD. (2002). Understading the Brain: Towards a New Learning Science. Paris: OECD Publishing. doi: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264174986-en.
Palláres-Domínguez, D. (2016). Neuroeducación en diálogo: Neuromitos en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje y en la educación moral. Pensamiento, 72(273), 941-958.
Papadatou-Pastou, M., Haliou, E., & Vlachos, F. (2017). Brain Knowledge and the Prevalence of Neuromyths among Prospective Teachers in Greece. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(804). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00804
Pasquinelli, E. (2012). Neuromyths: Why do they exist and persist? Mind, Brain and Education, 6(2), 89-96. doi:10.1111/j.1751-228X.2012.01141.x
Pei, X., Howard-Jones, P. A., Zhang, S., Liu, X., & Jin, Y. (2014). Teachers’ understanding about the brain in East China . Procedia - Social and Behaviour Sciences , 174, 3681-3688. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.1091
Rato, J. R., Abreu, A. M., & Castro-Caldas, A. (2013). Neuromyths in education: what is fact and what is fiction for Portuguese teachers? Educational Research, 55(4), 441-453. doi:10.1080/00131881.2013.844947
Terán, M. J. (2014). El diálogo entre neurociencia y educación: “neuro mitos” y aplicaciones para transformar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Quito. Disponible en: http://repositorio.usfq.edu.ec/bitstream/23000/3970/1/112641.pdf
Varas-Genestier, P., & Ferreira, R. A. (2017). Neuromitos de los profesores chilenos: orígenes y predictores. Estudios Pedagógicos, 43(3), 341-360. doi:10.4067/S0718-07052017000300020
Ansari, D., De Smedt, B., & Grabner, R. (2012). Neuroeducation – A Critical Overview of An Emerging Field. Neuroethics, 5(2), 105-117.
Bailey, R. P., Madigan, D. J., Cope, E., & Nicholls, A. R. (2018). The Prevalence of Pseudoscientific Ideas and Neuromyths Among Sports Coaches. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(641). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00641
Battro, A., Fischer, K., & Léna, P. (2008). The Educated Brain: Essays in Neuroeducation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Beauchamp, C., & Beauchamp, M. (2013). Boundary as Bridge: An Analysis of the Educational Neuroscience Literature from a Boundary Perspective. Educational Psychology Review, 25, 47-67. doi:10.1007/s10648-012-9207-x
Berninger, V. W., & Richards, T. L. (2002). Brain literacy for educators and psychologists. Elsevier.
Bowers, J. (2016). The Practical and Principled Problems With Educational Neuroscience. Psychological Review, 123(5), 600-612.
Boyd, R. (2008). Do people only use 10 percent of their brains? Scientific American. Obtenido de: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-only-use-10-percent-of-their-brains/
Bruer, J. (1997). Education and the Brain: A Bridge Too Far. Educational Researcher, 26(8), 4-16.
Busso, D. S., & Pollack, C. (2014). No brain left behind: consequences of. Learning, Media and Techonology, 40(2), 1-19. doi:10.1080/17439884.2014.908908
Campos, A. L. (2010). Neuroeducación: Uniendo las neurociencias y la educación en la búsqueda del desarrollo humano. La Educación(143). Recuperado de: http://kdoce.cl/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DOC1-neuroeducacion.pdf
Canbulat, T., & Kiriktas, H. (2017). Assessment of Educational Neuromyths among Teachers and Teacher Candidates. Journal of Education and Learning, 6(2), 326-333. doi:10.5539/jel.v6n2p326
Carew, T., & Magsamen, S. (2010). Neuroscience and Education: An Ideal Partnership for Producing Evidence-Based Solutions to Guide 21. Neuron, 67(5), 685–688.
Cigman, R., & Davis, A. (2009). New philosophies of learning. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Clark, J. (2013). Philosophy, Neuroscience and Education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 1-11.
Corredor, K., & Cárdenas, F. (2017). Neuro-”lo que sea”: inicio y auge de una pseudociencia para el siglo XXI. Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, 49(2).
Dekker, S., Lee, N. C., Howard-Jones, P., & Jolles, J. (2012). Neuromyths in education: Prevalence and predictors of misconceptions among teachers. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 1-8. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00429
Dündar, S., & Gündüz, N. (2016). Misconceptions Regarding the Brain: The Neuromyths of Preservice Teachers. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1-21. doi:10.1111/mbe.12119
Düvel, N., Wolf, A., & Kopiez, R. (2017). Neuromyths in Music Education: Prevalence and Predictors of Misconceptions among Teachers and Students. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(629). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00629
Ferrero, M., Garaizar, P., & Vadillo, M. A. (2016). Neuromyths in Education: Prevalence among Spanish Teachers and an Exploration of Cross Cultural Variation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10(496). doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00496
Fileds, R. D., Araque, A., Johansen-Berg, H., Lim, S. S., Lynch, G., Nave, K. A., . . . Wake, H. (2014). Glial biology in learning cognition. Neuroscientist, 20(5), 426-431. doi:10.1177/1073858413504465
Frazzetto, G., & Anker, S. (2009). Neuroculture. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 815-821.
Gleichgerrcht, E., Lira Luttges, B., Salvarezza, F., & Campos, A. L. (2015). Educational Neuromyths Among Teachers in Latin America. Mind, Brain and Education, 9(3), 170-178. doi:10.1111/mbe.12086
Gleichgerrcht, E., Luttges, B. L., Salavarezza, F., & Campos, A. L. (2015). Educational Neuromyths Among Teachers in Latin America. 9(3), 170-178. doi:10.1111/mbe.12086
Herculano-Houzel, S. (2002). Do You Know Your Brain? A Survey on Public Neuroscience Literacy at the Closing of the Decade of the Brai. Neuroscientist, 8(2), 98-110. doi:10.1177/107385840200800206
Hermida, M. J., Segretin, M. S., Soni García, A., & Lipina, S. J. (2016). Conceptions and misconceptions about neuroscience in preschool teachers: a study from Argentina. Educational Research, 58(4), 457-472. doi:10.1080/00131881.2016.1238585
Hook, C., & Farah, M. (2013). Neuroscience for Educators: What Are They Seeking, and What Are They Finding? Neuroethics, 6, 331–341.
Howard-Jones, P., Ansari, D., De Smedt, B., Laurillard, D., Varma, S., Butterworth, B., . . . Thomas, M. (2016). The Principles and Practices of Educational Neuroscience: Comment on Bowers (2016). Psychological Review, 123(5), 620–627.
Howard-Jones, P., Franey, L., Mashmoushi, R., & Liao, Y. C. (2009). The neuroscience literacy of trainee teachers. British Educational Research Association Annual Conference (pp. 1-39). Manchester: University of Manchester. Disponible en: http://www.lscp.net/persons/dupoux/teaching/JOURNEE_AUTOMNE_CogMaster_2014-15/readings_neuromyths/Howard-Jones_et_al_(2009).Neuroscience_litteracy.pdf
Im, S.-h., Cho, J.-Y., Dubinsky, J. M., & Varma, S. (2018). Taking an educational psychology course improves neuroscience literacy but does not reduce belief in neuromyths. PLOS ONE, 13(2), 1-19. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0192163
Lilienfeld, S. O. (2007). Psychological Treatments That Cause Harm. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2(1), 53-70. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00029.x
Macdonald, K., Germine, L., Anderson, A., Christodolou, J., & McGrath, L. M. (2017). Dispelling the Myth: Training in Education or Neuroscience Decreases but Does Not Eliminate Beliefs in Neuromyths. Frontiers in Psuchology, 8(1314). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01314
Mancera, L., & Roldan, M. (2018). Potenciando procesos atencionales desde la neuroeducación en la primera infancia. Recuperado de: http://190.131.241.186/bitstream/handle/10823/1131/potenciando%20procesos%20atencionales%20desde%20la%20neuroeducacion.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Minkang, K., & Sankey, D. (2017). Philosophy, neuroscience and pre-service teachers’ beliefs in neuromyths: A call for remedial action. Educational Philosophy and Theory. doi:10.1080/00131857.2017.1395736
Mora, F. (2013). Neuroeducación. Solo se puede aprender aquello que se ama . Alianza.
Norlund, A. (2018, Febrero 8). Busting Neuromyths. Magazine 1866.
OECD. (2002). Understading the Brain: Towards a New Learning Science. Paris: OECD Publishing. doi: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264174986-en.
Palláres-Domínguez, D. (2016). Neuroeducación en diálogo: Neuromitos en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje y en la educación moral. Pensamiento, 72(273), 941-958.
Papadatou-Pastou, M., Haliou, E., & Vlachos, F. (2017). Brain Knowledge and the Prevalence of Neuromyths among Prospective Teachers in Greece. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(804). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00804
Pasquinelli, E. (2012). Neuromyths: Why do they exist and persist? Mind, Brain and Education, 6(2), 89-96. doi:10.1111/j.1751-228X.2012.01141.x
Pei, X., Howard-Jones, P. A., Zhang, S., Liu, X., & Jin, Y. (2014). Teachers’ understanding about the brain in East China . Procedia - Social and Behaviour Sciences , 174, 3681-3688. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.1091
Rato, J. R., Abreu, A. M., & Castro-Caldas, A. (2013). Neuromyths in education: what is fact and what is fiction for Portuguese teachers? Educational Research, 55(4), 441-453. doi:10.1080/00131881.2013.844947
Terán, M. J. (2014). El diálogo entre neurociencia y educación: “neuro mitos” y aplicaciones para transformar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Quito. Disponible en: http://repositorio.usfq.edu.ec/bitstream/23000/3970/1/112641.pdf
Varas-Genestier, P., & Ferreira, R. A. (2017). Neuromitos de los profesores chilenos: orígenes y predictores. Estudios Pedagógicos, 43(3), 341-360. doi:10.4067/S0718-07052017000300020
How to Cite
Falquez Torres, J. F., & Ocampo Alvarado, J. C. (2018). From scientific knowledge to misunderstanding. Prevalence of neuromyths in Ecuadorian students. Iberoamerican Journal of Education, 78(1), 87–106. https://doi.org/10.35362/rie7813241
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Published
2018-11-15
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Section
Monográfico. Neurodidáctica en el aula
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