Curriculum

Why Students (and Adults) Struggle to Be Wrong — and How to Help

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment

The beginning of my career had me teaching high school Science, Chemistry and Math. One of my fondest memories was organizing science fairs at two different schools. The science fair was a great way for my students to expand both their knowledge in an area of interest, as well as give them practical experience in the scientific method.

Here’s an example of a typical conversation I might have had:

Two Grade 9 students set out to test whether plants grow better when exposed to music. They were excited, confident, and — after two weeks — convinced they were right. The plants exposed to music looked ‘happier’, they told me.

But when I gently pointed out that the control group had actually grown taller, they hesitated. “Maybe the music plants are just slower starters.”

The students aren’t being dishonest. They are being human — exhibiting something called Confirmation Bias.

Confirmation Bias: Our brain’s tendency to seek out, interpret and remember information that supports what we already believe.

It’s why a student who thinks they’re ‘bad at math’ might ignore a good test score one day, or why a child convinced their teacher or another student doesn’t like them may interpret neutral feedback from others as criticism.

It’s not a character flaw. It’s a feature of cognition — especially in an adolescent brain.

The Brain’s Shortcut System

Our brains are wired for efficiency. Every second, we’re bombarded with sensory input, and to make sense of it all, the brain relies on heuristics — mental shortcuts that help us make quick decisions. Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate and author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, describes this as the interplay between “System 1” (fast, intuitive thinking) and “System 2” (slow, analytical thinking). Confirmation Bias lives in System 1 — it’s fast, automatic, and invisible.

This heuristic shortcut helps us feel safe and certain. Confirmation Bias allows us to make sense of something very quickly. But, in a learning environment, it can unfortunately also close the doors to a more complete understanding.

The Adolescent Brain and Belief Formation

Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to Confirmation Bias. Their prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for critical thinking and self-regulation — is still developing well into their twenties. Research shows that the adolescent brain is particularly sensitive to social feedback. Beliefs formed during adolescence can become deeply entrenched and difficult to unseat — hence, the problem of changing “I can’t do math” or “Susie doesn’t like me”.

In school, this means that early experiences — both positive and negative — shape how students see themselves as learners for years to come.

When Confirmation Bias Meets the Curriculum

Confirmation Bias doesn’t just affect how students see themselves. It influences how they engage with content. A student who believes that History is ‘boring’ may skim over content that is actually really engaging. Someone who thinks that science is‘ too hard’ might dismiss their own curiosity on the topic. This same idea applies to every subject area depending on what a student believes — they can’t do math, sing, dribble a basketball, or bake a cake.

And when students are asked to explore controversial or difficult topics — things like climate change, historical injustices, or ethical dilemmas — Confirmation Bias can make it harder to consider multiple perspectives. This can close the door to exploring deeper, more complete truths.

Teachers as Cognitive Coaches

Educators play a powerful role in shaping how students process information. The way we frame questions, give feedback, and design lessons can either reinforce or disrupt Confirmation Bias.

When students actually believe their abilities can grow, they’re more likely to embrace challenges and revise their thinking. But this requires intentionality on the part of teachers, parents and others who work with them. A well-meaning comment that they’ve done a ‘good job‘ can actually reinforce a fixed belief just as easily as it can encourage growth.

Disrupting Confirmation Bias

So how do we help students see beyond what they already believe?

  • Ask open-ended questions — Invite multiple interpretations of the same issue or event.
  • Encourage metacognition — Have students reflect on how they’re thinking, not just what they’re thinking.
  • Introduce disconfirming evidence — What would it take to change their mind?
  • Model intellectual humility — Share moments when you’ve changed your own thinking.

Technology and Media

In today’s world, Confirmation Bias doesn’t stop at the classroom. In a previous post (Implicit Bias: Yup, I’m Talking About You! – Feb 2022) I discussed how social media (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook) is designed to confirm our bias by showing us posts and reels that agree with us — in direct contradiction to what we hope to be doing in classrooms. For young minds still forming their worldviews, this can reinforce narrow thinking as they settle into the belief that they must be right because “I see it everywhere on social media.“

In Saanich Schools, teaching digital literacy — how to evaluate sources, question algorithms, and seek diverse perspectives is something we put a lot of effort into and will continue to do so.

A New Kind of Resilience

Helping students challenge their own beliefs isn’t about changing their views on being right. It’s about building cognitive resilience — the ability to sit with uncertainty, to revise one’s thinking, and to grow — to be confident enough in oneself to be open to other perspectives and, yes, to maybe being wrong.

And, let’s be clear, it’s not just students. Many adults also have a difficulty being wrong.

It’s why we see slow change on things that are destructive or hurtful — we know better, but we still carry on. Think of things like climate change, growing income disparity, intolerance towards others, stereotyping, and bigotry.

All of them wrong, yet they persist.

Building cognitive resilience is not just learning — it’s transformation. It’s building reflective, curious young people who are open to new ideas that can solve existing and future problems.

Teaching for Curiosity, Not Certainty

Education isn’t about filling students with facts. We have come past the point of thinking the goal of K-12 education is simply placing more facts and figures into their heads — yes, there are important lessons from history, science, math, reading, and physical literacy — however, education is about teaching students HOW to think, HOW to question, and HOW to stay curious — HOW to be open to conflicting information that should challenge one’s current understanding.

It’s about them being confident enough in themselves to be unsure.

Confirmation Bias is a natural part of being human. But when we help students recognize it, name it, and work through it, we give them a gift far greater than facts and certainty.

We give them the tools to keep learning.

(This post was written with assistance of an AI prompt on exploring confirmation bias in education. I changed much of the content and added significantly to the final product.)

Why Equity and Excellence Must Walk Hand in Hand: Lessons from Finland and British Columbia

/ Dave Eberwein / 5 Comments

In education, we often look outward to learn inward. For years, Finland has been a guiding light — its public education system admired globally for its innovation, student success, and deep commitment to equity. Researchers, policymakers, and educators have studied it closely, hoping to understand how a small Nordic country became an educational superpower.

But Finland is no longer alone in this spotlight.

British Columbia has quietly — and confidently — joined the ranks of the world’s most respected education systems. Our province has consistently performed at the top of international assessments, and in 2019, the OECD chose BC to host its Future of Education and Skills 2030 meeting — the first time this global gathering was held in North America. That moment wasn’t just symbolic. It was a recognition of the work we’ve done together: educators, families, and communities building a system that values both excellence and equity.

Yes, we’ve learned from Finland. But, we’ve also forged our own path.

One of Finland’s most influential voices, Professor Pasi Sahlberg, has long championed the idea that public education must be both excellent and equitable. Currently a professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Melbourne in Australia, Sahlberg has worn many hats — teacher, researcher, policy advisor — and through it all, he’s remained steadfast in his belief that education is a public good. He reminds us that schools are not just places of learning; they are pillars of democracy, equity, and opportunity.

His message is clear: we don’t have to choose between high achievement and fair access. We can — and must — pursue both.

Here in Saanich, we see this every day:

  • In classrooms where students are encouraged to think critically and creatively.
  • In schools where staff work tirelessly to ensure every learner feels seen, supported, and challenged.
  • Where we recognize that Indigenous students are not achieving to the same level as their non-indigenous peers and, as such, continuing to focus on this inequity.
  • In families and communities that partner with us to nurture not just academic success, but well-being, belonging, and purpose.

The work is not easy. But it is essential.

As we look ahead, let’s continue to ask ourselves these questions:

  • Are we creating spaces where all students can thrive?
  • How do we continue to value our educators and support staff as the professionals they are?
  • Are we building a system that reflects the diversity, complexity, and potential of every learner?

Equity and excellence are not opposing forces. They are twin pillars of a strong public education system. And when we commit to both, we create something powerful — not just for our students, but for our entire community.

Reality – More than the Facts

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment

I’ve been doing a lot of recent wondering about the large amount of loud, social media noise that is crowding out more rationale thoughts and ideas. Part of my musing is how the education system should be responding to it in a way that builds a capacity in students to be able to discern truth from fiction — facts from opinions.

Let me go back a few years to my late teens and early 20s.

My undergraduate training in science provided me with an excellent set of tools to understand the world — to find reasons or explanations for a lot of things:

  • Why is the world’s climate changing so quickly?
  • What happens to our brain when we read?
  • What does trauma do to a person’s ability to learn?

Science uses The Scientific Method which, at its heart, is about ‘careful observation coupled with rigorous skepticism‘. Science uses a systematic process of working to disprove a current understanding about something, until the overwhelming evidence points to the truth — to an accepted fact.

I also love that science remains open to being wrong — that it challenges our assumptions and beliefs to ensure that bias is not part of the explanation.

REALITY IS MORE THAN FACTS

Yet, as I’ve grown in my career and throughout life, I’ve also come to understand that the ‘black and white’ world of science is not the complete answer. Reality is a combination of both the facts in front of us, and our personal experiences — experiences that help to create the context surrounding the facts.

Context: The conditions or situations that give meaning to an event.

Context adds the colour to the ‘black and white’ world of facts. The reality that we each experience lies enveloped in our own personal history and context.

The Facts are Black & White
Context Provides the Meaning
  • How is one’s own personal history influencing the event of today?
  • What inherent biases are people bringing to what they ‘see’ or ‘hear’?

By taking the time to understand the ‘tapestry’ or colour of the situation you can start to forge a deeper understanding of what lies before you — helping you create a better solution to whatever problem or situation exists.

So, what do context and our own history have to do with public education? I’m glad you asked!

CRITICAL THINKING

If a goal of public education is to ‘have educated citizens who thrive in a changing world’, then preparing them to be critical consumers of their world is essential. Students need to be able to understand more than facts — they need to be able to examine the context in which they observe these facts and be aware that a person’s own history and perceptions may be affecting their understanding.

Critical Thinking is an absolute necessity for our students to be the citizens we need in a world filled with fake news, social media bias and opinions camouflaging as fact:

BC Education: Critical … thinking encompasses a set of abilities that students use to examine their own thinking and that of others. This involves making judgments based on reasoning, where students consider options, analyze options using specific criteria, and draw conclusions.

Sounds great. We want students to critically examine the information before them, ask relevant questions and move their understanding forward.

But, can we objectively measure Critical Thinking? Should we even try?

It’s not like you can easily put a number beside Critical Thinking to see if it improves over time. And, because something isn’t easily measured, it doesn’t mean it isn’t important — As examples, Character, Integrity and Honesty are three traits that I would argue are very important but aren’t easily measured.

Several cognitive experts set out to come to an agreed definition of Critical Thinking at a Learning and the Brain conference. And to save you the time of wondering … No agreement was reached. In fact, they disagreed on a number of issues surrounding the concept.

Curiosity Leads to Thinking Critically

But, here’s some of what they did agree on about Critical Thinking …

  • Although we can’t agree on a common definition, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prioritize Critical Thinking in education.
  • True critical thinkers aggressively question their own beliefs.
  • Teaching to think critically about something should be done as early as Kindergarten.
  • Asking questions about a topic is the necessary first step to a deeper understanding.
  • Be careful in the assumption that students are not already thinking critically, especially if we know that it can’t be easily measured.
  • Critical Thinking is important — but so are Creative Thinking, Interdisciplinary Thinking, Systems Thinking, and Fuzzy Logic to name a few.
  • So, don’t start a Critical Thinking Program in schools — that isn’t necessary or reasonable.
  • Instead, schools should focus on the importance of Curiosity being present. Being openly curious is the path to understanding.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here are my top 5 take aways to help students be well prepared in distinguishing reality from what is not reality:

  1. Challenge assumptions – don’t assume what you’re observing is accurate,
  2. Watch out for opinions that may be misrepresented as facts – social media is flooded with this reality,
  3. Be reflective on your personal history and bias – it’s more influential on you than you may think,
  4. Be open to being wrong – I’m wrong a lot and admitting it actually helps me move forward, and
  5. Always be curious — because curiosity leads to deeper understanding!

That’s a pretty good list.

  • Science gives us a foundation;
  • Critical Thinking can lead to understanding context and its impact on the facts; and
  • Students become better, more informed citizens.

Important concepts in a world of uncertainty, hyperbole and unsubstantiated opinions. And there’s no shortage of that these days.