The idea that we each have a 'learning style' is nonsense

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Do you prefer to learn by seeing, listening, or doing?

These are the so-called learning styles – visual, auditory, and kinesthetic – and proponents of such an approach believe that knowing your learning style can help you become a better learner.

Despite the lack of evidence to support such an approach to learning, the concept remains hugely popular, no doubt in part because learning via our preferred style can lead us to feel like we’ve learned more, even though we haven’t.

In a survey, 96% of teachers were found to believe in learning styles. But it turns out this theory is nonsense.

For a new paper in Anatomical Sciences Education, a pair of researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have conducted just such an investigation with hundreds of undergrads.

The results indicated that student grade performance was not correlated in any meaningful way with their dominant learning style or with any learning style(s) they scored highly on. Also, while most students (67 per cent) actually failed to study in a way consistent with their supposedly preferred learning style, those who did study in line with their dominant style did not achieve a better grade

Instead, there were specific study strategies, such as practicing microscope work and using lecture notes, that were associated with better grade performance, regardless of students’ learning style. Imagine that, basic skills like practicing and studying have a positive impact on student learning. Maybe practice does make perfect, for all students.

The researchers concluded that the results “provide strong evidence that instructors and students should not be promoting the concept of learning styles for studying and/or for teaching interventions. Thus, the adage of ‘I can’t learn subject X because I am a visual learner’ should be put to rest once and for all.” Jborden & The Guardian

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