The Scientific Status of Learning Styles Theories

Willingham, Daniel T.; Hughes, Elizabeth M.; Dobolyi, David G.

doi:10.1177/0098628315589505

Cited by 266 publications

(186 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The continued use of Learning Styles is, in theory, associated with a number of harms (Pashler et al, 2008; Riener and Willingham, 2010; Dekker et al, 2012; Rohrer and Pashler, 2012; Dandy and Bendersky, 2014; Willingham et al, 2015). These include a ‘pigeonholing’ of learners according to invalid criteria, for example a ‘visual learner’ may be dissuaded from pursuing subjects which do not appear to match their diagnosed Learning Style (e.g., learning music), and/or may become overconfident in their ability to master subjects perceived as matching their Learning Style.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-Based Higher Education – Is the Learning Styles ‘Myth’ Important?

2017

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The basic idea behind the use of ‘Learning Styles’ is that learners can be categorized into one or more ‘styles’ (e.g., Visual, Auditory, Converger) and that teaching students according to their style will result in improved learning. This idea has been repeatedly tested and there is currently no evidence to support it. Despite this, belief in the use of Learning Styles appears to be widespread amongst schoolteachers and persists in the research literature. This mismatch between evidence and practice has provoked controversy, and some have labeled Learning Styles a ‘myth.’ In this study, we used a survey of academics in UK Higher Education (n = 114) to try and go beyond the controversy by quantifying belief and, crucially, actual use of Learning Styles. We also attempted to understand how academics view the potential harms associated with the use of Learning Styles. We found that general belief in the use of Learning Styles was high (58%), but lower than in similar previous studies, continuing an overall downward trend in recent years. Critically the percentage of respondents who reported actually using Learning Styles (33%) was much lower than those who reported believing in their use. Far more reported using a number of techniques that are demonstrably evidence-based. Academics agreed with all the posited weaknesses and harms of Learning Styles theory, agreeing most strongly that the basic theory of Learning Styles is conceptually flawed. However, a substantial number of participants (32%) stated that they would continue to use Learning Styles despite being presented with the lack of an evidence base to support them, suggesting that ‘debunking’ Learning Styles may not be effective. We argue that the interests of all may be better served by promoting evidence-based approaches to Higher Education.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-Based Higher Education – Is the Learning Styles ‘Myth’ Important?

2017

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“…It is rather striking that an overwhelming majority of professional educators strongly believe in the benefits of learning styles while other experts point out that there is no scientific support for this idea and call it a "neuromyth" (Dekker et al, 2012;Howard-Jones, 2014;Willingham et al, 2015;Hood et al, 2017). While the lack of evidence in support of the theory of learning styles remains a major issue in the field, the same lack of evidence makes it is hard to go against the intuitive attitude of this many educators.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is also conceivable and that some learners would be more comfortable with one teaching style as compared to another. In support, extensive recent surveys have found that about 95% of teachers and educators with diverse backgrounds have agreed that indeed there are learning styles and that students learn better if instructed in their preferred style (Dekker et al, 2012;Howard-Jones, 2014;Willingham et al, 2015). Following this popularity, various educational institutions and companies advertise programs and inventories to address how to profile individual learning styles and how to accordingly improve teaching and learning practices.…”

Section: Pros and Cons To The Idea Of Learning Styles Prosmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Possibility of Preferred Performance Styles and Their Link to Learning Styles

Yankulov

2017

Front. Educ.

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The existence of individual learning styles is a hot topic in contemporary education theory and practice. There is an ongoing debate on whether learners benefit from teaching methods that are tailored to their perceived learning styles. The majority of educators believe that such styles do exist and a striving industry benefits from this concept. However, experts conclude that the evidence on this matter provides no support for the utility of learning styles. In this manuscript, we briefly review this debatable topic and focus on a key flaw in the analyses of learning styles. We indicate that the current models for the evaluation of such styles call for different instruction methods and a uniform test. However, the possibility that learner styles correlate to different performance in different types of examination has not been experimentally addressed. We discuss this discrepancy and propose methodologies that can identify such preferred performance styles.

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“…Entwhistle & Ramsden, 1982;Entwhistle, 2007) have recorded the complex and multi-facetted nature of the teaching-learning environment, as understood from a long tradition of scholarly investigation into how students learn. While there is a debate regarding the exact details of student learning, including a lively critique of the concepts and models of learning styles and of how students learn (Pashler et al, 2008;Rohrer & Pashler, 2012;Klitmøller, 2015;Willingham et al, 2015), in simple terms, as Darling-Hammond (1998) says in response to a question about what teachers need to know, "The audience is also key: A skilful teacher figures out what students know and believe about a topic and how learners are likely to "hook into" new ideas.". One of the defining characteristics of scholars of teaching and learning is their engagement with their partners in teaching and learning, the students.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Title: Learning styles terminology: What is the researcher talking about?

Lake¹,

Boyd²,

Boyd³

2017

ij-sotl

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When a researcher encounters the term 'learning styles', its meaning, rather than being explicitly obvious, is dependent on the tradition and therefore the context from which the term has originated. For a new researcher, in particular, it can be a confusing and potentially time consuming process to correctly identify the differences the terminology. Importantly, it has been recognized that different researchers may use the same term, yet may not be referring to the same concept, as is particularly the case with the term 'learning style' . The confusion generated by the use of similar yet unrelated terminologies from different research traditions poses an ongoing important question: should the term 'learning style' be considered as the overall generic term that researchers use to define student learning dimensions? Therefore, the review of terminology in learning style/ s related fields could benefit from the acceptance of an overarching terminology, whether it be 'learning styles', 'learning patterns' , or 'learning dimensions' . Furthermore, and far more importantly, research related to this terminology could benefit from an extended explanation of the links to other research, making clear, the basis of current and future research to other researchers.

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The Scientific Status of Learning Styles Theories

Cited by 266 publications

References 23 publications

Evidence-Based Higher Education – Is the Learning Styles ‘Myth’ Important?

Evidence-Based Higher Education – Is the Learning Styles ‘Myth’ Important?

On the Possibility of Preferred Performance Styles and Their Link to Learning Styles

Title: Learning styles terminology: What is the researcher talking about?

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