Myth No. 1: We Have Set Learning Styles

　　误区1：拥有固定的学习风格

　　You’ve probably heard about visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. In a survey of more than 3,000 Americans, nearly 90% of respondents believe it’s better to receive information in your personal learning style.

　　你很可能听说过视觉学习、听觉学习和体验式学习。在一项3000名美国人参与的调查中，90%的人相信用自己特有的学习风格接受信息更有效。

　　But once you start thinking about the idea, it falls apart, says Ulrich Boser, author of Learn Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and School, or How to Become an Expert In Just About Anything.

　　《学得更好》一书的作者乌尔里希•柏沙表示，你如果仔细考量，其实这个想法站不住脚。

　　“It’s hard to learn soccer only by hearing it,” he says. “Like many myths, there is a bit of truth that lies behind it, but there’s no research to support learning styles. One major recent review stated simply that the authors found virtually no evidence for the approach.”

　　“通过听来学习足球非常难，”他说，“就像其他误区一样，这里存在一些事实，但是没有研究支持学习风格对学习有影响的论断。近期的一项研究则发现根本没有证据为这种方法证明。”

　　Myth No. 2: Rereading Material Is A Good Way To Learn

　　误区2：重温材料是学习的好方法

　　Before you go into an important meeting, you might refresh your memory by reviewing your notes or proposal, but this passive approach to learning won’t serve you well.

　　开重要会议之前，你可能会通过回顾笔记或议题的方式重新唤起记忆，但是这种被动的学习并不会起到很好的效果。

　　While more than 80% of respondents in Boser’s study believed that rereading is a highly effective approach to learning, research suggests that the approach is flawed, says Boser. What works better is an active form of learning.

　　上述调查中80%的参与者相信重温材料是非常有效的学习方法，柏沙说研究显示这种方法存在缺陷，更好的方法是积极地学习。

　　Myth No. 3: Focus On One Subject At A Time

　　误区3：一次只专注于一个学科

　　When it comes to learning a difficult subject, people often believe you should practice one thing at a time. If you’re learning to use a new suite of software, for example, practice one program one day and another the next.

　　当学习困难的学科时，人们通常认为要一心一意地练习其中一项。打个比方，如果你正在学新的软件，一天只练习一个程序，第二天再学新的。

　　Myth No. 4: Your First Answer Is Often The Right Answer

　　误区4：认为最初的答案通常是正确的答案

　　In school, many of us were taught that if you put an answer on a test you shouldn’t change it, but you’re actually better off reconsidering, says Boser.

　　柏沙说，在学校里，老师告诉我们考试时如果你已经选了一个答案，那你就不应该再改，但其实你应该重新考虑一下。

　　“People are overly confident,” he says. “Go around a room asking who the hardest working person is, and most people will identify themselves in that group.

　　“人们总是过度自信，”他说，“问一屋子里的人谁是学习最努力的人，很多人都觉得自己应该在列。

　　Also, if they’ve learned something from an article or TED talk, they think they know it. We actually need time to deliberate and reflect to understand something.”

　　另外，如果他们读到了一篇文章或从TED演讲得知了什么，他们就会认为自己知道。其实我们真的需要时间仔细考虑反思去理解一些东西。”

　　Myth No. 5: The Number Of Hours You Put Into Something Translates To Better Understanding

　　误区5：在一件事情上用的时间越多，理解就越透彻

　　Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours theory provided abenchmark for becoming an expert, but this doesn’t necessarily translate to learning, says Boser.

　　柏沙说，马尔科姆•格拉德韦尔的一万小时定律为变为专家提供了基准，但这不一定适用于学习。

　　“Most of us drive every day, but most of us have not gotten better at driving,” he says. “Putting in a lot of hours doesn’t always mean you’ll become good at something.”

　　“大多数人每天都开车，但驾驶技术却没有提高，”他指出，“花费大量的时间并不意味着你就能在某件事上变得擅长。”

（编辑：何莹莹）