Every school year two or three seemingly silly psychologies come along that are wholeheartedly adopted by the K-12 education community.
Every year a number of seemingly silly theories are introduced to the K-12 education community, at a cost to the taxpayer and a generous profit to the education industry, of course. In desperation of finding that data enhancing silver bullet and in fear of their kids falling behind, these unreplicated theories are typically wholeheartedly adopted and promoted. Millions of hours of professional development indoctrination follow and then within a few years the supposed revolutionary theories fade, seldom without any recognition that subsequent studies have revealed them to be bunk or they have failed scientific replication. Many educators unknowingly continue practicing pedagogical silliness for years. Apparently, schools are ideal psychology laboratories and students and teachers ideal lab rats.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I suspect that most educators knew many of these theories were at least silly, unnecessary or grossly exaggerated if not pure bunk but went along anyway. To list but a few: learning styles; positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS); braining training; unconscious bias (implicit associations/bias); Macbeth effect; mindfulness; growth mindset; grit; power posing; left brain-right brain; brain gym; brain-based learning; and multiple intelligences. And there are a ton of experimental pedagogies that are self-debunking.
