{"id":3526,"date":"2018-06-21T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/braindevs.net\/blog\/blog\/?p=3526"},"modified":"2018-06-25T20:31:22","modified_gmt":"2018-06-26T01:31:22","slug":"learning-styles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/learning-styles\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Not a Useful Debate: Learning Styles Theory [Updated]"},"content":{"rendered":"

At one of the first Learning and the Brain conferences I attended, a speaker briefly mentioned that learning styles theory doesn’t have much good evidence to support it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"learning<\/a><\/p>\n

That comment turned into a heated debate. Several attendees asked vexed, unhappy questions. The speaker held her ground.<\/p>\n

When I got in the elevator at the end of that session, I heard one attendee curtly dismiss the speaker’s objection: “well, it’s all just\u00a0statistics<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

It’s All Just Statistics<\/h2>\n

Well, it IS all statistics.<\/p>\n

In the worlds of neuroscience and psychology, researchers rely on statistical methods to ensure their recommendations aren’t simply hunches.<\/p>\n

Anyone can stand behind a microphone and have an opinion. But: if you’re going to do scientific research, your numbers have to add up.<\/p>\n

And, as researchers look at valid statistical models, they just don’t find good support for the idea that — for instance — some people are visual learners<\/em> and others are auditory learners.<\/em><\/p>\n

The numbers just don’t add up. Or, in this case: if you teach “visual learners” “visually,” they don’t learn any more than if you had taught them “auditorily” or “kinesthetically.”<\/p>\n

Multiple Entry Points<\/h2>\n

Instead, the content itself often offers guidance on the best way to teach. If you’re teaching a French or Spanish or Japanese accent, that content is — by its nature — auditory.<\/p>\n

If you’re teaching geography, that content is visual.<\/p>\n

Free throws? Kinesthetic.<\/p>\n

Most content, however, can be taught in multiple ways.<\/p>\n

For example: I’m thinking of an actress. She’s Australian. She played Virginia Woolf in that movie. And, she was married to Tom Cruise.<\/p>\n

If you’re shouting NICOLE KIDMAN, you’re right. Notice that I gave you three entry points<\/strong> to the neural network that encodes this memory: her country of origin, a role she played, and her marriage.<\/p>\n

So: “teaching to learning styles” helps because you probably teach your content in different ways — auditorily, visually, and kinesthetically. Those three different approaches give distinct connections to the memory you want your students to form.<\/p>\n

This approach to teaching helps not because of a student’s learning style, but because all your students now have multiple ways to access that memory.<\/p>\n

In other words, the theory helps students learn — but not for the reason it claims to.<\/p>\n

“Learning Styles”: Today’s News<\/h2>\n

Daniel Willingham — one of the early debunkers of learning styles myths — has recently posted his current thoughts on learning styles<\/a>. The short version:<\/p>\n

Nope. Learning Styles still don’t exist. Really.<\/p>\n

Learners should “tune their thinking to the task.” That is: learn about geography visually — even if you think you’re not a “visual learner.”<\/p>\n

More than many researchers, Willingham gets teachers and teaching. So: if you’re still a learning-styles believer, I encourage you to check out his article.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In related news: Greg Ashman argues that, no, rejecting learning styles theory isn’t sexist<\/a>. After all, LOTS of thoughtful female researchers reject the theory.<\/p>\n

And: the Learning Scientists have a great take on this debate. We shouldn’t focus simply on rejecting learning styles theory. Instead, we should replace it with a better theory. They have thoughts on how to do so<\/a>…<\/p>\n[Update, 6\/25\/18]\n

Finally, Scientific American has a recent article<\/a> showing that most students don’t use the learning styles that they believe would benefit them. And, when they do, those strategies don’t help them learn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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