Athena Rayne Anderson

Have you heard that the “Learning Pyramid,” published by “National Training Laboratories” in Bethel, Maine, (shown below) is not based on empirical evidence?

I recently discovered that this oft-cited infographic comes from an unreliable source. Check out this article for details: “Excavating the Origins of the Learning Pyramid Myths” from the peer-reviewed journal, Cogent Education.

I was so surprised when I discovered this article that I spent over an hour investigating. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve used this handy infographic to support my decision to use active learning instead of simple lecturing. There’s a large body of evidence supporting the use of active learning strategies, but I won’t be using the Learning Pyramid again! It turns out it’s a warped representation of an old research study and that learning and memory are more complicated than the infographic represents.

The Learning Pyramid was somehow invented from Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience (shown below and obtained from Growth Engineering), in his 1946 book, “Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching” (Dryden Press).

There are numerous other peer-reviewed articles discussing the problems with the Learning Pyramid, including:

• The Diffusion of the Learning Pyramid Myths in Academia: An Exploratory Study (Journal of Curriculum Studies)
• Edgar Dale’s Pyramid of Learning in Medical Education: Further Expansion of the Myth (Medical Education)
• The Learning Pyramid: Does it Point Teachers in the Right Direction? (Education)
• A Rebuttal of NTL Institute’s Learning Pyramid (Education)

This is just another example of how we, as critical thinkers and educators, must check the sources of what we find published online. I’m reminded of the old adage, “Just because it’s right doesn’t mean it’s popular, and just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s right.” In this case, just because it’s popular, doesn’t mean it’s supported by evidence.