Learning Styles: The Debate Begins

There have been many discussions about learning styles. Information about different styles and can easily be found on the Internet. Some of the learning styles include Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence, the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, and Dunn & Dunn’s Learning Style Assessment. Although the specifics of each type of learning style assessment differ, the basic idea is that there are basic differences in the ways people perceive and learn.

According to Terry O’Connor in the article “Using Learning Styles to Adapt Technology for Higher Education,” although the theories differ somewhat, there are five conclusions that seem to be constant:

            • Students will learn better when using preferences in which
                  they're successful
            • Students will be better learners when they can expand
                    their preferences
            • When teaching accommodates various preferences, more
                    students will be successful.
            • Teachers can construct activities that include specific
                    (& multiple) learning preferences
            • This can be done by adding alternatives or, completing
                    learning cycles that  incorporate all styles or, by
                    utilizing wholistic, complex tasks.

So do we change the way we teach? Do we need to change the way we teach? According to Daniel T Willingham, in the article “Do Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learners Need Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Instruction?” in the online publication of American Educator, instruction in the various learning styles is not necessary for the following reason:

             Because the vast majority of educational content is stored in
             terms of meaning and does not rely on visual, auditory,
             or kinesthetic memory, it is not surprising that researchers
             have found very little support for the idea that offering
             instruction in a child’s best modality will have a
             positive effect on his learning.

I have always tried to get my students to adapt their own learning to their Intelligence, often without success. I also try to change the way I teach, and have succeeded to some extent some days, but have failed miserably on others. I think we tend to be a lecture-listen society, reverting back to the way we were taught.  We as college instructors may find it difficult to change our approaches to meet the style of our students.
We may also believe that changing our style to fit our students' learning styles is not necessary.

What’s your opinion? Let’s discuss this issue either in the comments area below, or on the EPCC Faculty Development Facebook page.

See you next week!