There are many myths in education. I believe they all result from well-intentioned educators and/or researchers. However, with these myths, evidence simply does not exist to back up their claims. A few of the most prominent myths are: learning styles, left brain/right brain theory, and brain gyms. I have also previously written on the popular statement of edumyth, “Students don’t learn from people they don’t like.” These myths may appear harmless, but I don’t see it that way. For example, if students believe they learn via any one of the popular VAK learning styles, that will lead to biases and misinformation in how they learn. Now imagine if a teacher believes this to be true. A classroom of students will be affected by the popular myth. Now imagine if a school’s administration supports this myth…you get the point. All of these myths are not harmless. They misinform and incorrectly steer our classrooms.
In this article, I want to focus on a quite popular edumyth that I frequently see while participating in edchats and even on university websites. This is the myth of the learning pyramid, the cone of learning, or as a misrepresentation of Dale’s Cone of Experience.
Here’s a common representation found by searching google images for “the learning pyramid”:
The claims made are quite clear. Using different methods/strategies of presenting material to students, or students presenting material to each other, results in differing average rates of retention. On the surface, this seems to fit in with modern education philosophy. A lot of edchats I participate in and professional development lauds classroom strategies that advocate for a more student-centered or student-led classroom. This pyramid appears to support that movement. According to the pyramid, a student will only retain, on average, 5% via lecture but will retain 90% of what they teach others. That sounds correct. It follows what many teachers hear about how our classroom should be run.
But…it is so incorrect.
Think about the statistics involved. Here are but two examples of how the numbers figuratively and literally don’t add up:
-Let’s begin with retaining, on average, 90% of information by teaching others…how did the student learn the information to be able to teach others? If he or she learned the information via lecture, they only retained 5% of the information. So now they’re teaching others the 5% they retained from lecture to now only retain 90% of that teaching to others? And what of the retention of the student being taught (new learner)? If the student is telling (audio-visual) the new learner the material, the new learner should only, on average, retain 20% of the 90% of what the original learner retained. Hopefully you can understand the silliness of the pyramid. I sincerely don’t understand the logic.
-What about combining methods? Let’s say a student is teaching another student (average 90% retention) via a demonstration (average 30% retention)…is the student now going to remember, on average, around 120% of the material? I hear you, I hear you, “No. They would only retain 100% of the material. You cannot remember over 100% of anything.” Ok. Good point. I’ll concede. But…if there’s a method for retaining, on average, 100% of material, don’t you think we’d all be using it in the classroom? This also seems to imply there’s one, best way to teach in all circumstances. In my experience, this goes against the philosophies of differentiation and personalization of learning in the classroom.
I hope this proves my point. But, even if it doesn’t, even if you recognize that my examples are a bit anecdotal, that’s ok. I agree. Don’t take my word for it. Kudos for not accepting information without thoughtful consideration. Here is a fantastic look at the learning pyramid myth by Will Thalheimer. You want statistics? He’s got statistics. You want research? He’s got research. The article, Mythical Retention Data & The Corrupted Cone, goes into much greater detail and provides a history of the cone/pyramid.
Also, another great resource for mythbusting in education is Urban Myths about Learning and Education by Dr. Pedro De Bruyckere, Dr. Paul Kirschner, and Dr. Casper Hulshof. Chapter by chapter, the book discusses different myths in education and presents research to dispel the myth. It also discusses why these myths appear to have a hold on education around the world. I highly recommend this book.
Still not convinced? That’s ok. You’ll only retain, on average, 10% of this information. 🙂