"Learning Styles" Debunked in Study

Many faculty members, at the outset of each semester, survey their classes to determine the preponderant "learning styles" of the students in each class. Then they adjust their technique of instruction accordingly. Some students, according to this approach, learn better with "hands on" instruction, others in group and collaborative settings, or through individual experimentation, and so forth. Those who are critical of traditional lecture tend to advocate a student-centered pedagogy. 

However, our brains may not be wired to learn best in any particular style, a new paper argues. The study is the subject of a recent (Dec. 15) article by David Glenn in the online version of the Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription). The piece should appear in the forthcoming paper version of the CHE, and will perhaps be available in your college library. Not surprisingly, the online conversation in response to the article is quite extensive.

"Almost certainly," the article states, "you were told that your instruction should match your students' styles. Now four psychologists argue that you were told wrong. There is no strong scientific evidence to support the 'matching' idea, they contend in a paper published this week in Psychological Science in the Public Interest. And there is absolutely no reason for professors to adopt it in the classroom."

What this means for instructors, the lead researcher says, is that "They should not waste any time or energy trying to determine the composition of learning styles in their classrooms. (Are 50 percent of my students visual learners? Are 20 percent of them kinesthetic learners?)."

Not surprisingly, critics have responded. 

Robert J. Sternberg, dean of arts and sciences at Tufts University and a psychologist who has done considerable work specifically on learning styles, responded in an e-mail message that the researchers did not fully survey the scholarly literature, and thus "come across looking either biased about or largely ignorant of the field," the article reports. 

One should probably read the entire piece to get the picture. Also, the speaker at the TCCTA Professional Development Seminar, during the annual convention in Houston, will likely have some thoughts on the matter of learning styles, citing the latest in brain research. "The Multiple Pathways Model: Using Brain Research to Orchestrate Learning," will be presented by Janet Zadina, a cognitive neuroscientist, reading specialist, and former high school and community college instructor. Here's the link.

Comments

[College Research Paper]

I appreciate the work of all people who share information with others.