As described in this issue’s review about scientific teaching, an evidence-based approach to pedagogy is gradually gaining momentum across a wide range of academic disciplines, most notably the STEM fields. A number of challenges still remain on the road ahead but substantial progress has been made. One topic to emerge as a particularly active research area is the identification of misconceptions in learning or teaching processes1 2 3. Misconceptions of this type can be harbored by either the student or instructor (and sometimes both)4 5 6. In recent years, an array of diverse research has been conducted to identify misconceptions across a number of academic disciplines, offering startling insights into the relationship between student or instructor perception and outcomes in different learning processes7 8 9 10 11. In many respects, the results from this area have yielded some of the biggest surprises in evidence-based pedagogy.