When a teacher knows that their students‘ abilities can change and develop,’ says Roland H. Grabner, ‘they also believe more in their self-efficacy in their profession.’
1) Limited learning phases
Myth: The age of 0 to 3 years is a critical time window, after which certain things can no longer be learnt. Toddlers should therefore be given as many good stimuli as possible, for example listening to classical music.
Scientific evidence: It is true that there are sensitive phases in which specific things (for example language acquisition, processing visual signals) are learnt more quickly by the relevant areas of the brain, and the complete absence of stimuli can even lead to irreversible damage. However, the brain’s ability to form new neural connections – its plasticity – lasts a lifetime. Moreover, the learning process is not determined by the type of stimuli themselves, but by how they are processed. This process cannot be controlled.
2) Left and right brain hemispheres
Myth: The left brain thinks analytically, verbally and rationally, the right brain is creative, intuitive and non-verbal, and our school system focuses too much on the left brain.
Scientific evidence: The two halves of the brain do indeed differ in their structure and function. However, all tasks relevant to learning involve areas of both hemispheres of the brain, which are also connected via the corpus callosum with a cord of 250 million nerve cells and are in constant communication.In language acquisition, for example, recognising the melody of speech or reading between the lines takes place in the ‘non-verbal’ right hemisphere of the brain.
3) Mastering the mother tongue
Myth: Before you learn a second language, you should have a perfect command of your mother tongue, otherwise the two languages will get mixed up in the brain, with harmful consequences for the child’s development.
Scientific evidence: Research shows that, thanks to the flexibility of their brains, humans have a high capacity to acquire different languages simultaneously. According to studies, bilingual children understand the general structure of languages better and are also better able to use them.
Article (NZZ Matthias Meili,1.8.2024)
