«Edumyths»: Ideas about learning without scientific backing

The author travels through a multitude of erroneous educational myths, or edumyths, that today mark many teaching practices

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David Rabadà

In the realm of education, not all practices are valid, especially those based on misinterpretations, intuitions, and untruths that are currently being applied in our classrooms today. Perhaps this is a synthesis for this clean, structured, and logical book from those who advocate for teaching methods grounded in scientific evidence, as opposed to erroneous practices. The author’s bold move to challenge widely accepted yet scientifically unsupported ideas in education is indeed daring.

Dr. Héctor Ruiz presents thought-provoking content in an exemplary style and structure. Through this clear and concise essay, he unveils the paradox between proven scientific facts and the false pedagogies being implemented. It’s evident that we humans tend to be more emotional than rational, often placing more trust in our subjective experiences without evidence, rather than in the facts established by science. In the vein of Stephen Jay Gould, the author navigates through a multitude of erroneous educational myths, or ‘edumyths’, that currently pervade many teaching practices, training courses, and educational laws.

Dr. Ruiz clearly intends for these ‘edumyths’ to be removed from our educational laws, teacher training courses, and prevailing pedagogies, to prevent them from obstructing and degrading the quality of our teaching. Regrettably, progress in this field often feels like two steps forward and ten steps back. The ‘king of education’ is left vulnerable, yet continues to be revered by the majority. This essay serves as a critique of how pseudoscience, with its falsehoods, has infiltrated our teaching methods.

Pedagogists often claim that we only use 10% of the brain, when in reality, we utilize it fully; that attention in class can only be sustained for about 30 minutes, yet students can watch 2-hour movies; that school kills creativity, when in fact, the transmission of knowledge enhances our inherent ability to foster it; that there are various types of intelligences, none of which has been proven; or that education should focus less on the acquisition of knowledge and more on higher skills, yet an education that doesn’t promote the transmission of knowledge rarely produces creative, critical, and problem-solving minds. These are just a few examples of the ‘edumyths’ detailed in this remarkable book. We can only hope that the scientific method will truly permeate our classrooms. Science humbly questions and seeks to approach the truth, while pseudoscience falsely claims to possess it. Welcome to this enlightening book by Héctor Ruiz.

Book Title: «Edumitos»: Ideas sobre el aprendizaje sin respaldo científico (“Edumyths”. Ideas about Learning without Scientific Backing)

Author: Héctor Ruiz Martín

ISBN: 978-84-127147-8-4

Publisher: International Science Teaching Foundation

Language: Spanish

Number of Pages: 380 pages

Publication Date: December 12, 2023

Source: educational EVIDENCE

Rights: Creative Commons