A rationale for promoting cognitive science in teacher education: Deconstructing prevailing learning myths and advancing research-based practices.

PURPOSE: Cognitive science is essential to designing, implementing, and evaluating instruction for enhancing student learning. However, there may not be sufficient focus on the principles of cognitive science, as some educators hold learning beliefs that may be considered cognitive myths. PROCEDURES: This review article analyzes examples of five learning myths (learning styles, pure discovery learning, digital natives, extrinsic motivation, multitasking) and five research-based learning strategies (dual coding, direct instruction, summarization, retrieval practice, spacing). It details the research evidence for each to explain those misconceptions of learning and also those underutilized or misunderstood but effective strategies shown to benefit student learning. CONCLUSION: Educational practices related to learning myths are widespread in education with potentially detrimental effects on student learning. We recommend that colleges of education be restructured to ensure greater emphasis on cognitive science in educator preparation programs to better promote research-based instructional strategies to meet students' learning needs.

An Integrated Review of Recent Research on the Relationships Between Religious Belief, Political Ideology, Authoritarianism, and Prejudice.

Religious ideology and extremism have had an increasing influence on political agendas in the United States and much of the developed world in the past 60 years, with right-wing ideology becoming more prevalent this decade. This article serves as a review of studies investigating the correlations between political ideology, religiosity, right-wing authoritarianism, ingroups/outgroups, and prejudice in an attempt to describe and understand the well-established links between these dimensions. We discuss several group-level theories including Terror Management Theory, Social Identity Theory, Realistic Group Conflict Theory among others to frame the intercorrelations of these constructs in an effort to better understand the underlying mechanisms that drive individuals to embody religious and political beliefs. We then discuss individual-level cognitive and psychological differences such as intelligence, cognitive flexibility, and specific biological and neurological limitations of brain function that may influence people to adopt certain religious and political beliefs. Through a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms of religious and political extremism, we may be better equipped to assuage the fear and denigration that is associated with many of these beliefs.