Do you remember the show MythBusters? It aired for 13 years in the early 2000s on Discovery Channel with this premise: there are things we assume to be true about science that are, in fact, just a myth! Hosted by special effects experts, they used the scientific method to test the validity of all kinds of rumors, myths, adages, videos on the internet, and news stories, all the while busting myths ranging from whether a tube of biscuits would explode in a hot car (yes) to the amount of bacteria on a toothbrush (yuck) and lots of things to do with sharks, toilets, and duct tape! My favorite episode was when the MythBusters team set out to fact-check the feats of Indiana Jones – costumes and all.
While we are no Mythbusters team here at Kane Learning, we have learned a few things along the way about, well, learning! While learning is a complex process, thanks to neuroscience, we are beginning to understand more about how our brain acquires, processes, and retains information. That understanding can help us debunk myths that may have once been considered facts about learning.
So, in this blog post, we will take on the role of MythBusters to debunk 3 common learning misconceptions backed by neuroscience.
Myth 1: Successful leaders are good at multitasking
In a world where distractions abound, we are often tempted to skim email during a meeting, or if the meeting is virtual, flip between the grid of faces on our screen and a slide presentation we’re trying to wrap up for a meeting later in the day. We don’t think anyone notices, or that it impacts our ability to listen.
So, let’s bust this myth! The idea that some people are exceptional multitaskers is a common misconception. Neuroscience tells us that what we perceive as multitasking is actually rapid toggling between tasks, which has limitations—including our ability to connect and build relationships with others we are meeting with or retain the information we’ve just taken in.
Maybe you aren’t convinced yet! Try this quick experiment to see if you are a master of multitasking.
When clients engage in this experiment, we have found that while we often think multitasking makes us more productive or even efficient, the reality is quite different.
Myth 2: We can only learn using our preferred learning style
It's a common belief that everyone has a specific learning style - visual, auditory, or kinesthetic and that we learn best when we tailor our learning to that style. But neuroscience research has busted this myth! While it is true that we may have preferences, like taking notes while someone is teaching, there is just no evidence that using a preferred learning style improves learning outcomes. Instead - effective learning involves using multiple senses and types of engagement, regardless of learning style preferences.
At Kane Learning, our workshops leverage a range of methods to help people learn the way that works best for us. We share visuals, provide fidget toys when in person, build participant guides for folks to take notes and follow along, and create space for learners to share in smaller groups to foster relational connection and connection to the concepts.
Myth 3: Knowing = Doing
If you have been around a kid lately, you may have heard them say, “I know, Mom, I know!” when, in fact, they may not “know” at all – they don’t want to be told … again! Yet their knowing and actually doing shows us the gap in this well-known myth! “As adults, we often KNOW things we don’t DO. Our founder and CEO, Cassie Kane, shares that she knows she feels better when she does yoga every day but often feels too busy to fit it in. Just because we “know” doesn’t mean we “do”! Yet we hope that with the best of intentions, we will put into action what we learn. Understanding a concept doesn’t automatically translate into behavioral change. To bust this myth, neuroscience shows us that changing behavior based on new knowledge is a process that requires more than just understanding. We have to find a tangible way to DO something with what we’ve learned.
To highlight how this can work, I’ll share a story! I recently facilitated a workshop for a leadership team where we “put it all together.” We reviewed all the concepts we had covered during the year, and they completed a self-assessment. We covered a range of topics – goal setting, leading change, feedback, leading effective meetings, and more. They asked themselves - Which leadership concept am I doing well? Which one could I be even more effective in? From there, each leader developed a leadership action plan with 2-3 specific steps to leverage the areas of strength and focus on improving in the areas they want to be more effective in. One leader committed to giving her team feedback more consistently and shared this with another director on her team to help hold her accountable.
Which of these myths do you need to bust? Thanks to ongoing research in this area, we are learning more about the learning process, which challenges the traditional approaches that these myths are based on to develop more effective strategies! By embracing and adapting what we’re learning, we can get even better at offering engaging and fun learning experiences even more conducive to long-term learning and retention through application.
These myths are adapted from Blanchard Leader Chat's "6 Learning Myths Debunked by Neuroscience.”
If you want to read even more, check out this article.
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