A DIY Neuromyth Survey

Design your own neuroscience quiz/survey ( see example quiz/survey ) to investigate and collect data for your own (or your students') neuroscience experiments.

'Neuromyths' in Education: A simple survey can help identify misconceptions about learning difficulties and to help design strategies that help overcome teacher misconceptions and improve learning outcomes for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

Here are two example hypotheses that you could test using you own on-line survey/research data:

QUIZ: Please complete the on-line NEUROMYTH QUIZ now.

This quiz should be completed on commencement of the course and may be completed one or more times for pre-test and post-test use. Getting the 'correct' answers is unimportant - It is only a diagnostic tool to test for understanding. 3)

References

Neuroscience Quiz/Survey Questions

QUIZ: Please complete the on-line NEUROSCIENCE QUIZ before you read the content on this page.

This quiz should be completed on commencement of the course and may be completed one or more times for pre and post-test use. Getting the 'correct' answers is unimportant - It is only a diagnostic tool to test for understanding.

Quiz References/Source

Copied From Source (see 'Creative Commons' copyright notice at end of this page:

Quiz/Survey Questions/Statements + Answer Key

QUIZ QUESTIONS/STATEMENTS

  1. We use our brains 24 h a day. (C)
  2. *Children must acquire their native language before a second language is learned. If they do not do so neither language will be fully acquired. (I)
  3. Boys have bigger brains than girls. (C)
  4. *If pupils do not drink sufficient amounts of water (=6–8 glasses a day) their brains shrink. (I)
  5. *It has been scientifically proven that fatty acid supplements (omega-3 and omega-6) have a positive effect on academic achievement. (I)
  6. When a brain region is damaged other parts of the brain can take up its function (C).
  7. *We only use 10% of our brain. (I)
  8. The left and right hemisphere of the brain always work together. (C)
  9. *Differences in hemispheric dominance (left brain, right brain) can help explain individual differences amongst learners. (I)
  10. *The brains of boys and girls develop at the same rate. (I)
  11. *Brain development has finished by the time children reach secondary school. (I)
  12. *There are critical periods in childhood after which certain things can no longer be learned. (I)
  13. Information is stored in the brain in a network of cells distributed throughout the brain. (C)
  14. Learning is not due to the addition of new cells to the brain. (C)
  15. *Individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style (e.g., auditory, visual, kinesthetic). (I)
  16. Learning occurs through modification of the brains’ neural connections. (C)
  17. Academic achievement can be affected by skipping breakfast. (C).
  18. Normal development of the human brain involves the birth and death of brain cells. (C)
  19. *Mental capacity is hereditary and cannot be changed by the environment or experience. (I)
  20. Vigorous exercise can improve mental function (C).
  21. *Environments that are rich in stimulus improve the brains of pre-school children. (I)
  22. *Children are less attentive after consuming sugary drinks and/or snacks. (I)
  23. Circadian rhythms (“body-clock”) shift during adolescence, causing pupils to be tired during the first lessons of the school day. (C)
  24. Regular drinking of caffeinated drinks reduces alertness. (C)
  25. *Exercises that rehearse co-ordination of motor-perception skills can improve literacy skills. (I)
  26. Extended rehearsal of some mental processes can change the shape and structure of some parts of the brain. (C)
  27. Individual learners show preferences for the mode in which they receive information (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic). (C)
  28. *Learning problems associated with developmental differences in brain function cannot be remediated by education. (I)
  29. Production of new connections in the brain can continue into old age. (C)
  30. *Short bouts of co-ordination exercises can improve integration of left and right hemispheric brain function (I).
  31. There are sensitive periods in childhood when it’s easier to learn things. (C)
  32. *When we sleep, the brain shuts down. (I)

Quiz/Survey Answer Key

QUIZ ANSWER KEY (*Neuromyth assertions are presented in italic):

  • (C) = Correct assertion.
  • (I) = Incorrect assertion.

Keywords: neuromyths, educational neuroscience, prevalence, predictors, teachers

Citation: Dekker S, Lee NC, Howard-Jones P and Jolles J (2012) Neuromyths in education: Prevalence and predictors of misconceptions among teachers. Front. Psychology 3:429. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00429

Received: 02 August 2012; Paper pending published: 31 August 2012; Accepted: 01 October 2012; Published online: 18 October 2012.

Edited by: Layne Kalbfleisch, George Mason University, USA

Reviewed by: Kuan-Chung Chen, National University of Tainan, Taiwan Alys Jordan, University of Alaska Fairbank, USA

Copyright: © 2012 Dekker, Lee, Howard-Jones and Jolles. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and subject to any copyright notices concerning any third-party graphics etc.

Correspondence: Sanne Dekker, Department of Educational Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education and LEARN! Institute, VU University Amsterdam, Prof. E.M. Meijerslaan 2, 1183 AV Amstelveen, Netherlands. e-mail: s.j.dekker@vu.nl

What most teachers don't know about neuroscience & learning strategies

1)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/business/worldbusiness/05iht-dyslexia.4.8602036.html?_r=0
2)
https://www.quora.com/Dyslexia/Why-are-so-many-CEOs-dyslexic
3)
Quiz/Survey Answer Key - https://flipster.tv/doku.php?id=teaching:learning-difficulties:survey