Are Learning Styles a Myth?

Are you like many teachers that learned in college about the different types of learning styles that all learners are supposedly prescribed to?

You may have learned them to be styles like: kinesthetic learners or visual learners or auditory learners, among others.

And, you may have learned that each of us absorb new information best when it is presented in our preferred learning style.

This theory was supported by the notion of "Multiple Intelligences" - a theory that suggests that each of us are programmed to learn through a specific learning style.

If so - then the next sentence might be a bit of a shock.

Some research now says that learning styles are a MYTH.

Yep. Educational experts are now saying that although it sounds lovely to think about our students as fitting into these nice, neat, learning parameters -- it doesn't really hold up in the real world of teaching.

BUT WAIT - this isn't bad news. Keep reading...

Recent studies have shown that honing in on only one learning style (or as teachers, catering our instruction to specific learning styles), and labeling students as one learning style or another can actually limit their growth.

Think of it like this: Just because a student is an "auditory learner," doesn't mean that he or she couldn't gain a new perspective or deeper understanding by also being presenting with that same information visually or through hands-on (kinesthetic) learning.

When we provide opportunities for students to experience learning from a variety of angles, we increase their chances of success. We deepen their understanding. We give students a full understanding of a topic.

LOOKING AT LEARNING STYLES DIFFERENTLY:

So - do we abandon learning styles all together? Maybe not.

In fact - this new research can be encouraging to teachers. It means that students can benefit from a variety of learning experiences and teaching methods - not just ones that fit our labels.

And - it also means that as teachers, we don't just have one shot to get information through to our students. Instead we have multiple opportunities to help students grasp a concept - AND we have permission to present information to students in a variety of ways.

We also don't have to throw the concept of learning styles out the window completely. What we should do, is give these learning styles new meaning.

Instead of thinking of learning styles applying to a specific LEARNER, let's think about learning styles applying to WHAT is being taught.

When learning about one topic, one technique or learning style might better support the concept better than others.

For example, in science we might rely more on the kinesthetic, hands-on learning to support students.

In reading, we can lean on auditory learning to model fluency and expression.

With tricky, hard-to-understand concepts, all students will be able to benefit from seeing a visual representation of that concept.

Research also tells us that being exposed to information in a variety of ways only enriches our learning experiences, regardless of what learning style we might prefer.

A NEW APPROACH:

So - a better approach to learning styles in the classroom might be to encourage students to 💡THINK about how they learn in different areas of their lives - without limitations or parameters.

Let's give students more opportunities to reflect on what would be the best way for them to learn a specific topic, rather than trying to fit all learning experiences into a prescribed learning style.

And by exposing students to multiple learning styles along the way, students will be begin to learn a variety of ways to take in new information.

They might learn that in some instances, taking notes, or creating a visual representation of what they are learning will benefit them. Other times, just listening to the information is best.

And, they'll learn that different modes of learning will vary across the content areas.

MOVING FORWARD

The biggest take-away here is that we have permission to remove the barriers and the limitations that may have been placed on students by prescribing a learning style.

Instead, teachers can feel free to offer up a variety of learning styles and teaching methods with the reassurance that in doing so, they are providing rich and relevant learning experiences for all students.

Remember this: We are all life-long learners. When new research helps us understand best teaching practices, we can give ourselves permission to adjust our teaching philosophy accordingly.