Educational neuroscience and EFL instruction in higher education in Israel: English teachers’ beliefs in neuromyths and their reported impact on teaching practices

Goldberg, Algina (Leah)

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124144 Copy

Description

Title

Educational neuroscience and EFL instruction in higher education in Israel: English teachers’ beliefs in neuromyths and their reported impact on teaching practices

Author(s)

Goldberg, Algina (Leah)

Issue Date

2024-03-14

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Kalantzis, Mary

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Cope, William

Committee Member(s)

• Lane, H. Chad
• Zhang, Jinming

Department of Study

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ed.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Educational neuroscience
• neuromyths, EFL
• teacher beliefs
• teaching practices
• higher education
• Israel

Abstract

The growing interest in educational neuroscience gave rise to the so-called neuromyths or false beliefs about the brain (Dekker et al., 2012; Pasquinelli, 2012). While the prevalence of neuromyths among teachers has been established around the world, the research on the proliferation of neuromyths among English teachers specifically is limited, and non-existent in Israel. This study used a mixed methods design to explore the beliefs in the most popular neuromyths and their impact on English language instruction in higher education in Israel. The data were collected via an online survey (n=37) and in-depth interviews (n=16) using voluntary response sampling. The results revealed that despite the high rate of belief in neuromyths, they had little impact on teaching practices. Knowledge about the brain was used to enhance memory, metacognition, provide different input modes, attend to emotions, and help students with learning disabilities. This study concluded that the introduction of educational neuroscience into the English classroom depends on teacher training that imparts practical, observable practices and the efforts to investigate the link between beliefs about the brain and teaching practices.

Graduation Semester

2024-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124144

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 Algina Goldberg

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