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Learning styles
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{{short description|Largely debunked theories that aim to account for differences in individuals' learning}}Learning styles refer to a range of theories that aim to account for differences in individuals' learning.BOOK,weblink Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning: a systematic and critical review, Moseley, David, Hall, Elaine, Ecclestone, Kathryn, 2004, Learning and Skills Research Centre, 1853389188, London, 505325671, Coffield, Frank, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160304072804weblink">weblink 2016-03-04, Although there is ample evidence that individuals express personal preferences on how they prefer to receive information,{{rp|108}} few studies have found validity in using learning styles in education.{{rp|267}} Many theories share the proposition that humans can be classified according to their "style" of learning, but differ on how the proposed styles should be defined, categorized and assessed.{{rp|8}} A common concept is that individuals differ in how they learn.JOURNAL, Willingham, Daniel T., Daniel T. Willingham, Hughes, Elizabeth M., Dobolyi, David G., July 2015, The scientific status of learning styles theories, Teaching of Psychology (journal), Teaching of Psychology, 42, 3, 266â271, 10.1177/0098628315589505, 146126992, {{rp|266}}The idea of individualized learning styles became popular in the 1970s. In one extensive list of learning-styles instruments and theories {{harv|Coffield|Moseley|Hall|Ecclestone|2004|pp=166â169}}, the authors listed three works on learning styles before the 1950s, four from the 1950s, seven from the 1960s, 21 from the 1970s, 22 from the 1980s, and 17 from the 1990s. This has greatly influenced education despite the criticism that the idea has received from some researchers.JOURNAL, Pashler, Harold, McDaniel, Mark, Mark A. McDaniel, Rohrer, Doug, Bjork, Robert A., Robert A. Bjork, December 2008, Learning styles: concepts and evidence, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9, 3, 105â119, 10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x, 26162104, 2112166, free, {{rp|107â108}} Proponents recommend that teachers run a needs analysis to assess the learning styles of their students and adapt their classroom methods to best fit each student's learning style.BOOK, Pritchard, Alan, 2014, 2005, Learning styles, Ways of learning: learning theories and learning styles in the classroom, 3rd, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, Routledge, 9780415834926, 853494423, 46â65,weblink Critics claim that there is no consistent evidence that better student outcomes result from identifying an individual student's learning style and teaching for specific learning styles.BOOK, Vasquez, Kris, 2009, Learning styles as self-fulfilling prophecies, Gurung, Regan A. R., Prieto, Loreto R., Getting culture: incorporating diversity across the curriculum, Sterling, VA, Stylus, 53â63,weblink 9781579222796, 228374299, {{rp|33}} Since 2012, learning styles have often been referred to as a "neuromyth" in education.WEB, Blanchette Sarrasin, Jérémie, Masson, Steve, 29 September 2015,weblink Neuromyths in Education, EdCan Network, Canadian Education Association, 18 September 2020, JOURNAL, Dekker, Sanne, Lee, Nikki C., Howard-Jones, Paul, Jolles, Jelle, 18 October 2012, Neuromyths in education: prevalence and predictors of misconceptions among teachers, Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 429, 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00429, 23087664, 3475349, free, There is evidence of empirical and pedagogical problems related to forcing learning tasks to "correspond to differences in a one-to-one fashion".JOURNAL, Klein, Perry D., January 2003, Rethinking the multiplicity of cognitive resources and curricular representations: alternatives to 'learning styles' and 'multiple intelligences', Journal of Curriculum Studies, 35, 1, 45â81, 10.1080/00220270210141891, 144074203, Studies contradict the widespread "meshing hypothesis" that a student will learn best if taught in a method deemed appropriate for the student's learning style. However, a 2020 systematic review suggested that a majority (89%) of educators around the world continue to believe that the meshing hypothesis is correct.JOURNAL, Newton, Philip M., Salvi, Atharva, 2020, How Common Is Belief in the Learning Styles Neuromyth, and Does It Matter? A Pragmatic Systematic Review, Frontiers in Education, 5, 270, 10.3389/feduc.2020.602451, 2504-284X, free, Studies further show that teachers cannot assess the learning style of their students accurately.JOURNAL, Papadatou-Pastou, Marietta, Gritzali, Maria, Barrable, Alexia, 2018, The learning styles educational neuromyth: lack of agreement between teachers' judgments, self-assessment, and students' intelligence, Frontiers in Education, 3, 10.3389/feduc.2018.00105, free, In one study, students were asked to take an inventory of their learning styles. After nearly 400 students completed the inventory, 70% did not use study habits that matched their preferred learning method.WEB, May, Cindi, May 29, 2018, The Problem With "Learning Styles", Scientific American,weblink This study also indicated that students who used study methods that matched their preferred learning style performed no better on tests than students who did not.- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
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Overview of models
There are many different learning styles models; one literature review identified 71 different models.{{rp|166â168}} Only a few models are described below.David Kolb's model
David A. Kolb's model is based on his experiential learning model, as explained in his book Experiential Learning.BOOK, Kolb, David A., David A. Kolb, 2015, 1984, Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development, 2nd, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson Education, 9780133892406, 909815841,weblink Kolb's model outlines two related approaches toward grasping experience: Concrete Experience and Abstract Conceptualization, as well as two related approaches toward transforming experience: Reflective Observation and Active Experimentation.{{rp|145}} According to Kolb's model, the ideal learning process engages all four of these modes in response to situational demands; they form a learning cycle from experience to observation to conceptualization to experimentation and back to experience. In order for learning to be effective, Kolb postulated, all four of these approaches must be incorporated. As individuals attempt to use all four approaches, they may tend to develop strengths in one experience-grasping approach and one experience-transforming approach, leading them to prefer one of the following four learning styles:{{rp|127}}BOOK, Smith, Donna M., Kolb, David A., David A. Kolb, 1996, 1986, User's guide for the learning-style inventory: a manual for teachers and trainers, Boston, McBer, 9780133892406, 38505355,- Accommodator = Concrete Experience + Active Experiment: strong in "hands-on" practical doing (e.g., physical therapists)
- Converger = Abstract Conceptualization + Active Experiment: strong in practical "hands-on" application of theories (e.g., engineers)
- Diverger = Concrete Experience + Reflective Observation: strong in imaginative ability and discussion (e.g., social workers)
- Assimilator = Abstract Conceptualization + Reflective Observation: strong in inductive reasoning and creation of theories (e.g., philosophers)
- The model doesn't adequately address the process of reflection;
- The claims it makes about the four learning styles are extravagant;
- It doesn't sufficiently address the fact of different cultural conditions and experiences;
- The idea of stages/steps doesn't necessarily match reality;
- It has only weak empirical evidence;
- The relationship between learning processes and knowledge is more complex than Kolb draws it.
Peter Honey and Alan Mumford's model
Peter Honey and Alan Mumford adapted Kolb's experiential learning model. First, they renamed the stages in the learning cycle to accord with managerial experiences: having an experience, reviewing the experience, concluding from the experience, and planning the next steps.BOOK, Mumford, Alan, Putting learning styles to work, Action learning at work,weblink 1997, Gower, Aldershot, Hampshire; Brookfield, VT, 121â135, 0566078902, 35777384, {{rp|121â122}} Second, they aligned these stages to four learning styles named:{{rp|122â124}}- Activist
- Reflector
- Theorist
- Pragmatist
Learning modalities
Walter Burke Barbe and colleagues proposed three learning modalities (often identified by the acronym VAK):BOOK, Barbe, Walter Burke, Swassing, Raymond H., Milone, Michael N., 1979, Teaching through modality strengths: concepts practices, Columbus, Ohio, Zaner-Bloser, 0883091003, 5990906,- Visualizing modality
- Auditory modality
- Kinesthetic modality
| Listening |
| Rhythms |
| Tone |
| Chants |
Neil Fleming's VAK/VARK model
(File:Four Types of Learning Styles.jpg|thumb|Visual representation of the 4 learning styles)Neil Fleming's VARK model and inventoryJOURNAL, Leite, Walter L., Svinicki, Marilla, Shi, Yuying, April 2010, Attempted validation of the scores of the VARK: learning styles inventory with multitraitâmultimethod confirmatory factor analysis models, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 70, 2, 323â339, 10.1177/0013164409344507, 144889213, expanded upon earlier notions of sensory modalities such as the VAK model of Barbe and colleagues and the representational systems (VAKOG) in neuro-linguistic programming.BOOK, Fleming, Neil D., Neil Fleming, July 1995, I'm different; not dumb: modes of presentation (VARK) in the tertiary classroom, Zelmer, A. C. Lynn, Zelmer, Amy Elliott, Higher education: blending tradition and technology: proceedings of the 1995 Annual Conference of the Higher Education and Research Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA), Research and development in higher education, 18, Rockhampton, Professional Education Centre, Faculty of Health Science, Central Queensland University, 308â313, 9780133892406, 154135362, Those skilled in using neuro-linguistic programming (N.L.P.) and left-brain, right brain theorists have been claiming that the visual, aural, kinesthetic preferences (V,A,K) follow through into creativity, spatial abilities and even vocabulary usage... In addition to the usual three part modal divisions (visual, kinesthetic and aural) a fourth category, the read-writers, has been added for our questionnaire.,weblink The four sensory modalities in Fleming's model are:WEB, Fleming, Neil D., Neil Fleming, The VARK modalities,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150314235648weblink">weblink vark-learn.com, 2014, 14 March 2015, 9 August 2015,- Visual learning
- Aural learning
- Reading/writing learning
- Kinesthetic learning
Gregorc & Butler's model
Anthony Gregorc and Kathleen Butler organized a model describing different learning styles rooted in the way individuals acquire and process information differently.BOOK, Butler, Kathleen Ann, Gregorc, Anthony F., Anthony Gregorc, 1988, It's all in your mind: a student's guide to learning style, Columbia, CT, Learner's Dimension, 0945852010, 20848567, This model posits that an individual's perceptual abilities are the foundation of his or her specific learning strengths, or learning styles.WEB, Anderson, Margaret, Mind Styles: Anthony Gregorc,weblink cortland.edu, 3 February 2004, 9 August 2015, In this model, there are two perceptual qualities: concrete and abstract, and two ordering abilities: random and sequential. Concrete perceptions involve registering information through the five senses, while abstract perceptions involve the understanding of ideas, qualities, and concepts which cannot be seen. In regard to the two ordering abilities, sequential ordering involves the organization of information in a linear, logical way, and random ordering involves the organization of information in chunks and in no specific order. The model posits that both of the perceptual qualities and both of the ordering abilities are present in each individual, but some qualities and ordering abilities are more dominant within certain individuals.There are four combinations of perceptual qualities and ordering abilities based on dominance: concrete sequential, abstract random, abstract sequential, and concrete random. The model posits that individuals with different combinations learn in different waysâthey have different strengths, different things make sense to them, different things are difficult for them, and they ask different questions throughout the learning process.The validity of Gregorc's model has been questioned by Thomas Reio and Albert Wiswell following experimental trials.JOURNAL, Reio, Thomas G., Wiswell, Albert K., June 2006, An examination of the factor structure and construct validity of the Gregorc Style Delineator, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 3, 489â501, 10.1177/0013164405282459, 146783750, Gregorc argues that his critics have "scientifically-limited views" and that they wrongly repudiate the "mystical elements" of "the spirit" that can only be discerned by a "subtle human instrument".WEB, Gregorc, Anthony F., Anthony Gregorc, Frequently asked questions on style,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150504072936weblink">weblink gregorc.com, 29 January 2015, 4 May 2015, 9 August 2015,Cognitive approaches
Anthony Grasha and Sheryl Riechmann, in 1974, formulated the Grasha-Reichmann Learning Style Scale.JOURNAL, Riechmann, Sheryl Wetter, Grasha, Anthony F., July 1974, A rational approach to developing and assessing the construct validity of a student learning style scales instrument, The Journal of Psychology, 87, 2, 213â223, 10.1080/00223980.1974.9915693, It was developed to analyze the attitudes of students and how they approach learning. The test was originally designed to provide teachers with insight on how to approach instructional plans for college students.BOOK, Grasha, Anthony F., 1996, Teaching with style: a practical guide to enhancing learning by understanding teaching and learning styles, Curriculum for change series, Pittsburgh, Alliance Publishers, 0964507110, 34349818, Grasha's background was in cognitive processes and coping techniques. Unlike some models of cognitive styles which are relatively nonjudgmental, Grasha and Riechmann distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive styles. The names of Grasha and Riechmann's learning styles are:- avoidant
- participative
- competitive
- collaborative
- dependent
- independent
NASSP model
In the 1980s, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) formed a task force to study learning styles.JOURNAL, Keefe, James W., March 1985, Assessment of learning style variables: the NASSP task force model, Theory into Practice, 24, 2, 138â144, 1476430, 10.1080/00405848509543162, The task force defined three broad categories of styleâcognitive, affective, and physiologicalâand 31 variables, including the perceptual strengths and preferences from the VAK model of Barbe and colleagues, but also many other variables such as need for structure, types of motivation, time of day preferences, and so on.{{rp|141â143}} They defined a learning style as "a gestaltânot an amalgam of related characteristics but greater than any of its parts. It is a composite of internal and external operations based in neurobiology, personality, and human development and reflected in learner behavior."{{rp|141}}- Cognitive styles are preferred ways of perception, organization and retention.
- Affective styles represent the motivational dimensions of the learning personality; each learner has a personal motivational approach.
- Physiological styles are bodily states or predispositions, including sex-related differences, health and nutrition, and reaction to physical surroundings, such as preferences for levels of light, sound, and temperature.{{rp|141}}
Assessment methods
A 2004 non-peer-reviewed literature review criticized most of the main instruments used to identify an individual's learning style. In conducting the review, Frank Coffield and his colleagues selected 13 of the most influential models of the 71 models they identified,{{rp|8â9}} including most of the models described in this article. They examined the theoretical origins and terms of each model, and the instrument that purported to assess individuals against the learning styles defined by the model. They analyzed the claims made by the author(s), external studies of these claims, and independent empirical evidence of the relationship between the learning style identified by the instrument and students' actual learning. Coffield's team found that none of the most popular learning style theories had been adequately validated through independent research. This means that even if the underlying theories were sound, educators are frequently unable to correctly identify the theoretically correct learning style for any given student, so the theory would end up being misapplied in practice.Learning Style Inventory
The Learning Style Inventory (LSI) is connected with David A. Kolb's model and is used to determine a student's learning style. Previous versions of the LSI have been criticized for problems with validity, reliability, and other issues.JOURNAL, Koob, Jeffrey J., Funk, Joanie, March 2002, Kolb's learning style inventory: issues of reliability and validity, Research on Social Work Practice, 12, 2, 293â308, 10.1177/104973150201200206, 17548610,weblink JOURNAL, Metallidou, Panayiota, Platsidou, Maria, 2008, Kolb's Learning Style Inventory-1985: validity issues and relations with metacognitive knowledge about problem-solving strategies, Learning and Individual Differences, 18, 1, 114â119, 10.1016/j.lindif.2007.11.001,weblink Version 4 of the Learning Style Inventory replaces the four learning styles of previous versions with nine new learning styles: initiating, experiencing, imagining, reflecting, analyzing, thinking, deciding, acting, and balancing.WEB, Kolb learning style inventory (KLSI), version 4 online: description,weblink haygroup.com, 9 August 2015, The LSI is intended to help employees or students "understand how their learning style impacts upon problem solving, teamwork, handling conflict, communication and career choice; develop more learning flexibility; find out why teams work wellâor badlyâtogether; strengthen their overall learning."A completely different Learning Styles Inventory is associated with a binary division of learning styles, developed by Richard Felder and Linda Silverman.JOURNAL, Felder, Richard M., Silverman, Linda K., January 1988, Learning and teaching styles in engineering education, Engineering Education, 78, 7, 674â81,weblink In Felder and Silverman's model, learning styles are a balance between pairs of extremes such as: Active/Reflective, Sensing/Intuitive, Verbal/Visual, and Sequential/Global. Students receive four scores describing these balances.WEB,weblink Index of learning styles questionnaire, Barbara A., Soloman, Richard M., Felder, North Carolina State University, 1 November 2012, Like the LSI mentioned above, this inventory provides overviews and synopses for teachers.NASSP Learning Style Profile
The NASSP Learning Style Profile (LSP) is a second-generation instrument for the diagnosis of student cognitive styles, perceptual responses, and study and instructional preferences.BOOK, Keefe, James W., Monk, John S., 1988, Learning style profile: technical manual, Reston, VA, National Association of Secondary School Principals, 0882102133, 22143235, The LSP is a diagnostic tool intended as the basis for comprehensive style assessment with students in the sixth to twelfth grades. It was developed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals research department in conjunction with a national task force of learning style experts. The Profile was developed in four phases with initial work undertaken at the University of Vermont (cognitive elements), Ohio State University (affective elements), and St. John's University (physiological/environmental elements). Rigid validation and normative studies were conducted using factor analytic methods to ensure strong construct validity and subscale independence.The LSP contains 23 scales representing four higher order factors: cognitive styles, perceptual responses, study preferences and instructional preferences (the affective and physiological elements). The LSP scales are: analytic skill, spatial skill, discrimination skill, categorizing skill, sequential processing skill, simultaneous processing skill, memory skill, perceptual response: visual, perceptual response: auditory, perceptual response: emotive, persistence orientation, verbal risk orientation, verbal-spatial preference, manipulative preference, study time preference: early morning, study time preference: late morning, study time preference: afternoon, study time preference: evening, grouping preference, posture preference, mobility preference, sound preference, lighting preference, temperature preference.Other methods
Other methods (usually questionnaires) used to identify learning styles include Neil Fleming's VARK Questionnaire and Jackson's Learning Styles Profiler.{{rp|56â59}} Many other tests have gathered popularity and various levels of credibility among students and teachers.In the classroom
For a teacher to use the learning styles model, the teacher has to be able to correctly match each student to a learning style. This is a generally unsuccessful exercise due to inappropriate tools. For an assessment tool to be useful, it needs to be a valid test, which is to say that it actually has to put all of the "style A" students in the "A" group, all of the "style B" students in the "B" group, and so forth. Research indicates that very few, if any, of the psychometric tests promoted in conjunction with the learning styles idea have the necessary validity to be useful in practice. Some models, such as Anthony Gregorc's Gregorc Style Delineator, are "theoretically and psychometrically flawed" and "not suitable for the assessment of individuals".{{rp|20}}Furthermore, knowing a student's learning style does not seem to have any practical value for the student. In 2019, the American Association of Anatomists published a study that investigated whether learning styles had any effect on the final outcomes of an anatomy course. The study found that even when being told they had a specific learning style, the students did not change their study habits, and those students that did use their theoretically dominant learning style had no greater success in the course; specific study strategies, unrelated to learning style, were positively correlated with final course grade.JOURNAL, Husmann, Polly R., O'Loughlin, Valerie Dean, January 2019, Another nail in the coffin for learning styles? Disparities among undergraduate anatomy students' study strategies, class performance, and reported VARK learning styles, Anatomical Sciences Education, 12, 1, 6â19, 10.1002/ase.1777, 29533532, 3885672,Dunn and Dunn
Various researchers have attempted to hypothesize ways in which learning style theory can be used in the classroom. Two such scholars are Rita Dunn and Kenneth Dunn, who build upon a learning modalities approach.{{rp|20â35}}BOOK, Dunn, Rita Stafford, Dunn, Kenneth J., 1978, Teaching students through their individual learning styles: a practical approach, Reston, VA, Reston Pub. Co., 0879098082, 3844703, Although learning styles will inevitably differ among students in the classroom, Dunn and Dunn say that teachers should try to make changes in their classroom that will be beneficial to every learning style. Some of these changes include room redesign, the development of small-group techniques, and the development of "contract activity packages". Redesigning the classroom involves locating dividers that can be used to arrange the room creatively (such as having different learning stations and instructional areas), clearing the floor area, and incorporating students' thoughts and ideas into the design of the classroom.Dunn and Dunn's "contract activity packages" are educational plans that use: a clear statement of the learning need; multisensory resources (auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic); activities through which the newly mastered information can be used creatively; the sharing of creative projects within small groups; at least three small-group techniques; a pre-test, a self-test, and a post-test.Dunn and Dunn's learning styles model is widely used in schools in the United States, and 177 articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals referring to this model.{{rp|20}} However, the conclusion of a review by Coffield and colleagues was: "Despite a large and evolving research programme, forceful claims made for impact are questionable because of limitations in many of the supporting studies and the lack of independent research on the model."{{rp|35}}Sprenger's Differentiation
Another scholar who believes that learning styles should have an effect on the classroom is Marilee Sprenger in Differentiation through Learning Styles and Memory.BOOK, Sprenger, Marilee, 2008, 2003, Differentiation through learning styles and memory, 2nd, Thousand Oaks, CA, Corwin Press, 9781412955447, 192109691,weblink She bases her work on three premises:- Teachers can be learners, and learners teachers. We are all both.
- Everyone can learn under the right circumstances.
- Learning is fun! Make it appealing.{{Page needed|date=August 2015}}
Criticism
Learning style theories have been criticized by many scholars and researchers. Some psychologists and neuroscientists have questioned the scientific basis for separating out students based on learning style. According to Susan Greenfield the practice is "nonsense" from a neuroscientific point of view: "Humans have evolved to build a picture of the world through our senses working in unison, exploiting the immense interconnectivity that exists in the brain."NEWS, Henry, Julie, Professor pans 'learning style' teaching method,weblink 29 August 2010, The Telegraph (U.K.), The Telegraph,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20091219060846weblink">weblink 19 December 2009, 29 July 2007, Similarly, Christine Harrington argued that since all students are multisensory learners, educators should teach research-based general learning skills.WEB, Harrington, Christine, 24 March 2014,weblink Teach learning skills, not learning styles: we are ALL multi-sensory learners, Cengage, 10 March 2019, ,Many educational psychologists have shown that there is little evidence for the efficacy of most learning style models, and furthermore, that the models often rest on dubious theoretical grounds.JOURNAL, Curry, Lynn, October 1990, A critique of the research on learning styles, Educational Leadership, 48, 2, 50â56, JOURNAL, Rohrer, Doug, Pashler, Harold, July 2012, Learning styles: where's the evidence?, Medical Education, 46, 7, 634â635, 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2012.04273.x, 22691144, 16676546,weblink According to professor of education Steven Stahl, there has been an "utter failure to find that assessing children's learning styles and matching to instructional methods has any effect on their learning."BOOK, Stahl, Steven A., 2004, Different strokes for different folks?, Abbeduto, Leonard, Taking sides: clashing views on controversial issues in educational psychology, Guilford, CT, Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, 98â107, 0072917237, 53479331,weblink Professor of education Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VARK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning.BOOK, Claxton, Guy, 2008, What's the point of school?: rediscovering the heart of education, Richmond, Oneworld Publications, 9781851686032, 228582273,weblink Similarly, psychologist Kris Vasquez pointed out a number of problems with learning styles, including the lack of empirical evidence that learning styles are useful in producing student achievement, but also her more serious concern that the use of learning styles in the classroom could lead students to develop self-limiting implicit theories about themselves that could become self-fulfilling prophecies that are harmful, rather than beneficial, to the goal of serving student diversity.Some research has shown that long-term retention can better be achieved under conditions that seem more difficult, and that teaching students only in their preferred learning style is not effective.MAGAZINE, Viskontas, Indre, Indre Viskontas, JanuaryâFebruary 2020, Dubious Claims in Psychotherapy for Youth,weblink Skeptical Inquirer, Amherst, Center for Inquiry, 44, 1,weblink 30 May 2020, 30 May 2020, Psychologists Scott Lilienfeld, Barry Beyerstein, and colleagues listed as one of the "50 great myths of popular psychology" the idea that "students learn best when teaching styles are matched to their learning styles", and they summarized some relevant reasons not to believe this "myth".Other critiques
Coffield and his colleagues and Mark Smith are not alone in their judgements. In 2005, Demos, a UK think tank, published a report on learning styles prepared by a group chaired by David Hargreaves that included Usha Goswami from the University of Cambridge and David Wood from the University of Nottingham. The Demos report said that the evidence for learning styles was "highly variable", and that practitioners were "not by any means always frank about the evidence for their work".BOOK, Beere, Jackie, Swindells, Maggie, Wise, Derek, Desforges, Charles, Goswami, Usha, Usha Goswami, Wood, David, Horne, Matthew, Lownsbrough, Hannah, Hargreaves, David, David Hargreaves (academic), 2005, About learning: report of the Learning Working Group, London, Demos (UK think tank), Demos, 1841801402, 59877244,weblink 2014-05-08,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071222065214weblink">weblink 2007-12-22, dead, {{rp|11}}Cautioning against interpreting neuropsychological research as supporting the applicability of learning style theory, John Geake, Professor of Education at the UK's Oxford Brookes University, and a research collaborator with Oxford University's Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, commented in 2005: "We need to take extreme care when moving from the lab to the classroom. We do remember things visually and aurally, but information isn't defined by how it was received."NEWS, Revell, Phil, 30 May 2005, Each to their own,weblink The Guardian,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070304034655weblink">weblink 4 March 2007, 9 August 2015, dead, The work of Daniel T. Willingham, a cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist, has argued that there is not enough evidence to support a theory describing the differences in learning styles amongst students. In his 2009 book Why Don't Students Like School,BOOK, Willingham, Daniel T., Daniel T. Willingham, 2009, Why don't students like school?: a cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom, San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass, 9780470279304, 255894389,weblink he claimed that a cognitive styles theory must have three features: "it should consistently attribute to a person the same style, it should show that people with different abilities think and learn differently, and it should show that people with different styles do not, on average, differ in ability".{{rp|118}} He concluded that there are no theories that have these three crucial characteristics, not necessarily implying that cognitive styles don't exist but rather stating that psychologists have been unable to "find them".{{rp|118}} In a 2008 self-published YouTube video titled "Learning Styles Don't Exist", Willingham concluded by saying: "Good teaching is good teaching and teachers don't need to adjust their teaching to individual students' learning styles."WEB,weblink Learning Styles Don't Exist, 21 August 2008, Daniel T., Willingham, Daniel T. Willingham, YouTube, 2020-05-28,2009 APS critique
In late 2009, the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) published a report on the scientific validity of learning styles practices. The panel of experts that wrote the article, led by Harold Pashler of the University of California, San Diego, concluded that an adequate evaluation of the learning styles hypothesisâthe idea that optimal learning demands that students receive instruction tailored to their learning stylesârequires a particular kind of study. Specifically, students should be grouped into the learning style categories that are being evaluated (e.g., visual learners vs. verbal learners), and then students in each group must be randomly assigned to one of the learning methods (e.g., visual learning or verbal learning), so that some students will be "matched" and others will be "mismatched". At the end of the experiment, all students must sit for the same test. If the learning style hypothesis is correct, then, for example, visual learners should learn better with the visual method, whereas auditory learners should learn better with the auditory method. As disclosed in the report, the panel found that studies utilizing this essential research design were virtually absent from the learning styles literature. In fact, the panel was able to find only a few studies with this research design, and all but one of these studies were negative findingsâthat is, they found that the same learning method was superior for all kinds of students. Examples of such negative findings include the research of Laura J. Massa and Richard E. Mayer,JOURNAL, Massa, Laura J., Mayer, Richard E., Richard E. Mayer, 2006, Testing the ATI hypothesis: should multimedia instruction accommodate verbalizer-visualizer cognitive style?, Learning and Individual Differences, 16, 4, 321â335, 10.1016/j.lindif.2006.10.001,weblink as well as more recent research since the 2009 review.JOURNAL, Kollöffel, Bas, February 2012, Exploring the relation between visualizerâverbalizer cognitive styles and performance with visual or verbal learning material, Computers & Education, 58, 2, 697â706, 10.1016/j.compedu.2011.09.016, A 2015 study found no statistically significant improvement in student comprehension when instruction methods were related to learning style preferences; the researchers argued that "educators may actually be doing a disservice to auditory learners by continually accommodating their auditory learning style preference" (p. 77) since most testing is presented in a written word format only, and therefore all students should have strong visual word skills. See: JOURNAL, Rogowsky, Beth A., Calhoun, Barbara M., Tallal, Paula, Paula Tallal, 2015, Matching learning style to instructional method: effects on comprehension, Journal of Educational Psychology, 107, 1, 64â78, 10.1037/a0037478,weblink Furthermore, the panel noted that, even if the requisite finding were obtained, the benefits would need to be large, and not just statistically significant, before learning style interventions could be recommended as cost-effective. That is, the cost of evaluating and classifying students by their learning style, and then providing customized instruction would need to be more beneficial than other interventions (e.g., one-on-one tutoring, after school remediation programs, etc.).{{rp|116â117}}As a consequence, the panel concluded, "at present, there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning styles assessments into general educational practice. Thus, limited education resources would better be devoted to adopting other educational practices that have strong evidence base, of which there are an increasing number."{{rp|105}}The article incited critical comments from some defenders of learning styles. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Robert Sternberg from Tufts University spoke out against the paper: "Several of the most-cited researchers on learning styles, Mr. Sternberg points out, do not appear in the paper's bibliography."JOURNAL, Glenn, David, 15 December 2009, Matching teaching style to learning style may not help students, The Chronicle of Higher Education,weblink 24 February 2010, This charge was also discussed by Science, which reported that Pashler said, "Just so... most of [the evidence] is 'weak'."JOURNAL, Holden, Constance, 8 January 2010, Learning with style, Science (journal), Science, 327, 5692, 129.2â129,weblink 10.1126/science.327.5962.129-b, The Chronicle reported that even David A. Kolb partly agreed with Pashler; Kolb said: "The paper correctly mentions the practical and ethical problems of sorting people into groups and labeling them. Tracking in education has a bad history."Subsequent critiques
A 2015 review paperJOURNAL, Cuevas, Joshua, November 2015, Is learning styles-based instruction effective?: a comprehensive analysis of recent research on learning styles, Theory and Research in Education, 13, 3, 308â333, 10.1177/1477878515606621, 146462452, examined the studies of learning styles completed after the 2009 APS critique, giving particular attention to studies that used the experimental methods advocated for by Pashler et al. The findings were similar to those of the APS critique: the evidence for learning styles was virtually nonexistent while evidence contradicting it was both more prevalent and used more sound methodology. Follow-up studies concluded that learning styles had no effect on student retention of material whereas another explanation, dual coding, had a substantial impact on it and held more potential for practical application in the classroom.JOURNAL, Cuevas, Joshua, Dawson, Bryan L., March 2018, A test of two alternative cognitive processing models: learning styles and dual coding, Theory and Research in Education, 16, 1, 40â64, 10.1177/1477878517731450, free, A 2017 research paper from the UK found that 90% of academics agreed there are "basic conceptual flaws" with learning styles theory, yet 58% agreed that students "learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style", and 33% reported that they used learning styles as a method in the past year. It concluded that it might be better to use methods that are "demonstrably effective".JOURNAL, Newton, Philip M., Miah, Mahallad, 2017, Evidence-based higher educationâis the learning styles 'myth' important?, Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 444, 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00444, 28396647, 5366351, free, JOURNAL, Nancekivell, Shaylene E., Shah, Priti, Gelman, Susan A., 2020, Maybe they're born with it, or maybe it's experience: toward a deeper understanding of the learning style myth, Journal of Educational Psychology, 112, 2, 221â235, 10.1037/edu0000366, 191740592,weblinkSee also
- {{annotated link|Barnum effect}}
- {{annotated link|Constructivism (philosophy of education)}}
- {{annotated link|Memory improvement}}
- {{annotated link|Meta learning}}
- {{annotated link|Metacognition}}
- {{annotated link|Montessori education}}
- {{annotated link|Multisensory learning}}
- {{annotated link|Personality test}}
- {{annotated link|16PF Questionnaire}}
- {{annotated link|Big Five personality traits}}
- {{annotated link|DISC assessment}}
- {{annotated link|Speed learning}}
- {{annotated link|Theory of multiple intelligences}}
- {{annotated link|Working memory}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}Further reading
- BOOK, Coffield, Frank, 2012, Learning styles: unreliable, invalid and impractical and yet still widely used, Adey, Philip, Dillon, Justin, Bad education: debunking myths in education, Maidenhead, UK; New York, Open University Press, 215â230, 9780335246014, 813206835,weblink
- WEB, Felder, Richard M., Richard Felder, Are learning styles invalid? (Hint: No!),weblink On-Course Newsletter, 27 September 2010, 19 October 2019,
- JOURNAL, Hawk, Thomas F., Shah, Amit J., January 2007, Using learning style instruments to enhance student learning, Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 5, 1, 1â19, 10.1111/j.1540-4609.2007.00125.x, free,
- BOOK, Hopper, Carolyn H., 2016, 1998, Learning styles, Practicing college learning strategies, 7th, Boston, Cengage Learning, 173â200, 9781305109599, 913164185,weblink
- JOURNAL, James, Waynne Blue, Gardner, Daniel L., Autumn 1995, Learning styles: implications for distance learning, New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 1995, 67, 19â31, 10.1002/ace.36719956705,
- WEB,weblink Learning styles, Education Endowment Foundation, 26 February 2019,
- JOURNAL, Rayner, Stephen G., July 2013, Problematising style differences theory and professional learning in educational psychology, The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 30, Special Issue 1, 13â35, 10.1017/edp.2013.2, 145501265,
- JOURNAL, Riener, Cedar, Willingham, Daniel T., Daniel T. Willingham, August 2010, The myth of learning styles, (Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning), 42, 5, 32â35, 10.1080/00091383.2010.503139, 144349329,weblink
- JOURNAL, Ritter, Leonora, October 2007, Unfulfilled promises: how inventories, instruments and institutions subvert discourses of diversity and promote commonality, Teaching in Higher Education, 12, 5â6, 569â579, 10.1080/13562510701595119, 144100043,
- JOURNAL, Scott, Catherine, April 2010, The enduring appeal of 'learning styles', Australian Journal of Education, 54, 1, 5â17, 10.1177/000494411005400102, 49432369,weblink 2015-08-10,weblink 2017-04-17, dead,
- NEWS, Will, Madeleine, 5 September 2019,weblink Teachers still believe in learning styles and other myths about cognition, Education Week, 2019-09-10,
External links
- The Biggest Myth In Education by Veritasium
- Different Types Of Learning Styles According To The VARK Model
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