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Brain Research and Learning Styles: Teaching students about learning styles and trying to match instructional strategies to learning styles improves learning outcomes - Myth

by Bruce Lewolt on December 8, 2010

Over the next week we will post the research on each of the four options. Here is the first post:

Learning Styles - Myth:

The latest research shows that trying to match instructional strategies to an individual's learning style (verbal, visual, kinesthetic) is ineffective. In fact there is almost no support for thinking that learning styles exist.

The most comprehensive study to date on learning styles was done by the respected researchers Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer and Bjork. The study called Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence was published in the December 2008 edition of Psychological Science in the Public Interest. It turns out that this myth is actually counterproductive because teaching students about learning styles leads to the false conclusion that they are not capable of learning if material is presented in a method that doesn't match their learning style.

Unfortunately, selling learning styles has become a big business. A search of learning styles on Amazon produced over four thousand books and products that promote the myth of Learning Styles.

The Smashing Silos Research Staff

Topics: learning styles, motivation