Five educational myths

Auckland University Education Dean John Langley calls for better research and evaluation of education initiatives.  It’s a sensible article, and worth highlighting his five myths:

1. That experience is the best way to gain success.
2. That process is more important than product.
3. That learning must be fun and easy.
4. That you must “like” the person who teaches you.
5. That opinion equals fact.

Langley asserts these myths have for decades permeated our policy-making and practice. I see little in what he says, which I can disagree with.  For example:

Experience alone does not improve performance. What improves performance is knowledge, skills and how they are applied and interpreted by experience. Without better knowledge and skill, experience alone is a vacuum.

And finally I refer to:

Accepting everything and expecting nothing will neither help children learn nor enable them to reach full potential.

Indeed.