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

Abstract

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.

Preferred Learning Styles among Students with Learning Disabilities

“…According to many psychologists, learning styles come as a result of interaction between cognitive, emotional, environmental factors, and the learners' past experiences (Lake et al, 2017). Based on this assumption, every student is a different learner, and teachers must understand the differences in students' learning styles so that they can implement best practices in their daily teaching activities (Landrum & McDuffie, 2010).…”

The Ethnocentric Origins of the Learning Style Idea

“…That is, psychologists have been critical of the idea that students and/or teachers are able to identify a specific learning style or preference through which students learn best (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and that teaching through that aligned style will lead to improved learning. Although skepticism and confusion over learning styles have escalated in recent years (Lake, Boyd, & Boyd, 2017), the research on learning styles had been problematic from the start, and scholars are uncertain exactly when and how the learning style idea first emerged. “Experts aren’t sure how the concept spread,” one journalist (Kahzan, 2018) admitted in an article on the “myth” of learning styles, “but it might have had something to do with the self-esteem movement of the late ’80s and early ’90s” (p. 1).…”