Two red flags to watch out for at conferences
/By Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D.
Conferences are a great place to learn and feel energized. But to be honest, sometimes I leave feeling frustrating. In my experience, most of the information presented is legit, but some of it is just pure nonsense.
There are two red flags I always watch out for at conferences, and you should, too:
Outdated citations for classroom research that wasn’t actually conducted in classrooms
Neuromyths, misleading information, and irrelevant pictures of the brain
I’ve attended at least 50 conferences throughout my career as a scientist and educator, and these two red flags make me cringe. Every. Single. Time. Keep reading to find out why you should replace cringeworthy citations with my list of recent research, as well as tips on how to spot neuromyths from cognitive scientist Dr. Roberta Ekuni.
Make sure to register for our Zoom Party on May 1, 2025 at 5pm ET with higher education powerhouses James Lang and Michelle Miller. Join us for an informal conversation about teaching, writing, and how to remember names.
Also, I’ll be at the Learning & the Brain Conference this weekend (my keynote is on Sunday, April 27 in the morning). Keep your eyes peeled for the two red flags and let me know if you spot them!
Join our Zoom Party with James Lang and Michelle Miller on May 1
On Thursday, May 1 at 5:00pm ET, I’ll be hosting a Zoom Party with Dr. James Lang, author of Small Teaching and Write Like You Teach, and Dr. Michelle Miller, author of Minds Online and A Teacher's Guide to Learning Student Names. Join the informal conversation and walk away with practical tips to improve your teaching, writing, and memory.
Visit retrievalpractice.org/party to register. The Zoom Party will be recorded, but you must register to access the recording.
If you’ve ever thought about writing an op-ed or book — to share your area of expertise, how you teach, or awkward classroom moments — Jim’s practical tips on how to get started are pure gold. I truly wish I had his new book, Write Like You Teach, when I first started out as an author. And if you’ve ever struggled with student names, Michelle has a wealth of advice for improving your memory.
Thank you to the 50+ educators who attended our live book launch Zoom Party for Smart Teaching Stronger Learning! We had a blast learning about the authors, sharing teaching tips and free resources, and reminiscing about our 20+ years of friendship.
Conference Red Flag #1: Outdated Citations
If you attend a conference, keynote, or workshop on the science of learning, pay attention to the citations included on speakers’ slides. Here’s a rule of thumb: Is the citation before or after 2010?
Why are outdated citations (pre-2010) my biggest pet peeve at conferences? Because we’ve learned a lot about learning in the past 15 years. Most real-world retrieval practice research conducted in authentic classrooms was published after 2010.
How can you (or a speaker) update citations? I’ve made it easy by curating two lists of recent references: Here’s a list of 10 articles on the science of learning, and here’s another list of 20 articles from my book Smart Teaching Stronger Learning. Both lists are organized by topic area (retrieval, spacing, interleaving, etc.) and I’ve included open access links to each article (when available). All 30 articles were published after 2010.
If you see a citation for cognitive psychology research from before 2010, chances are high that it was conducted in a laboratory using individual cubicles and computer stations (this is also before iPhones and Instagram became popular, for context).
Carefully controlled laboratory research is essential in understanding the fundamentals of human behavior, learning, and memory, and this type of research continues today (particularly with large sample sizes from online experiments). If a speaker is talking about theoretical or foundational lab research on learning, then pre-2010 citations work well.
Applied research in the real world, even if it’s “messy,” is also essential in understanding how learning works. If a speaker is talking about learning in the classroom, then post-2010 citations are more appropriate. (Here’s an awesome example with updated citations from Matt Miller’s Ditch That Textbook blog.)
Citations on the science of learning need to reflect the critical shift from laboratory research to classroom research that occurred around 2010. It’s been 15 years! We can do better. And if a conference speaker is using post-2010 citations when talking about learning in the real world, it’s reassuring to know that they’re keeping up with current research.
Conference Red Flag #2: Neuromyths
As Dr. Roberta Ekuni explains in her book chapter in Smart Teaching Stronger Learning, myths about how the brain works are everywhere, especially in education. Plus, claims that include the words “neuro” or “brain” take advantage of our fascination with brain-related information (known as the seductive allure effect). If I could count the number of times I’ve encountered neuromyths at education conferences, I would have as many fingers as AI-generated humans (times a thousand).
How familiar are you with neuromyths? Take my neuromyths quiz and find out.
There’s nothing wrong with being curious about the brain, but it is important to be aware of neuromyths, learn how to spot them, and engage in mythbusting with educators and students. Classroom time and resources are valuable. They should be allocated to evidence-based teaching and studying strategies that consistently improve learning, not spent on methods or products based on neuromyths. In Dr. Ekuni’s research, more than 30% of teachers reported basing their decisions on inaccurate information about the brain.
Here are some tips from Dr. Ekuni to help you identify what is a legit claim based on neuroscience research vs. a misleading neuromyth:
Stay alert: Pay attention to books and products that include terms like “neuro” or “brain.” Think about whether they are taking advantage of the seductive allure effect. Even fake pictures of brains are persuasive.
Be skeptical of perceived authority: Just because a so-called authority figure said something about the brain doesn’t make the statement (or the person’s expertise) valid or accurate.
Ask for details: Don't trust claims about a product where “a study shows” it works. Instead, ask, “What study?” before investing your time or money.
Disseminate accurate information: Use your social networks to share accurate scientific information about the brain (check out my interview with Mythbusters on YouTube). Avoid sharing information that you are not sure is true.
Discuss with your colleagues and students: Share evidence-based teaching strategies (like retrieval practice!), complete a neuromyths quiz (click here to download a worksheet version), and rally around a collective goal: using critical thinking when making educational decisions.
Learn about Dr. Roberta Ekuni
Dr. Roberta Ekuni (she/her) is an Adjunct Professor at Universidade Estadual de Londrina in Paraná, Brazil. She specializes in research on retrieval practice, neuromyths, and cross-cultural learning. She earned her Ph.D. from the Universidade Federal de São Paulo.
She teaches courses on neuroscience and research methods. Her popular videos, podcasts, and articles reach thousands of students and teachers around the world (she has more than 30,000 followers on Instagram @DraRobertaEkuni). Dr. Ekuni also led efforts to translate my practice guides in Portuguese, and she created a YouTube video about retrieval practice in Portuguese.
Dr. Ekuni and I have a few publications together about “WEIRD” research. The acronym WEIRD, in the context of research, refers to experiments conducted with participants from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic countries. In this article from 2010, scientists found that more than 80% of participants in psychology research are from WEIRD countries, but they represent only 12% of the world’s population. This is also something to keep an eye out for at conferences: Where was the research conducted?
I am inspired by Dr. Ekuni’s efforts to conduct research and share the science of learning in Brazil, and I am grateful for her contributions on neuromyths in Smart Teaching Stronger Learning.
Dr. Ekuni’s recent publications:
Where did pre-service teachers, teachers, and the general public learn neuromyths? [Download PDF]
Neurophilia is stronger for educators than students in Brazil [Download PDF]
Are study strategies universal? A call for more research with diverse non-WEIRD students [Download PDF]
A conceptual replication of survey research on study strategies in a diverse, non-WEIRD student population [Download PDF]
