University teachers’ and non-teaching doctoral researchers’ evaluation of neuromyth-related claims about learning and memory

Abstract Over the past two decades, there has been growing concern about educators’ mistaken beliefs in neuromyths, which may contribute to misconceptions about the nature of learning. This study explores participants’ evaluations of ten neuromyth-related statements about learning and memory by measuring their levels of agreement and confidence in the statements, as well as the sources through which they had encountered these claims. Participants’ evaluations were assessed through a survey completed by 100 university teachers and non-teaching doctoral researchers from a Finnish university. The most prevalent neuromyth found in this study was the existence of learning styles, which was endorsed by 68% of the participants with high confidence. However, this finding was interpreted cautiously because the neuromyth statement had similar wording to the true statement about preferred modes of learning, which was endorsed by 87% of participants. The study findings also highlighted the need to improve understanding of evidence-based learning techniques and the relationship between sleep and memory. Hearing-based activities and personal reflections were commonly reported among participants who provided examples of prior exposure to neuromyths, and this finding suggested that the prevalence of neuromyths among these participants may be related to their high confidence in personal reflections. Therefore, correcting mistaken beliefs should be paired with providing science-based information and explicitly debunking neuromyths.