A Fiddler Crab
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chicago
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Originally Posted by Russic
One laughable difference between teacher's education and the real world was that in the education stage there's a ton of attention paid to catering learning to each individual's learning style.
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"Learning styles" are a myth and modern teacher education reflects this understanding. Unfortunately it is a powerful myth that did hold sway in teacher education for several decades. Currently, it is well known that there is no science to support the notion that people have inherent 'learning styles' through which they learn best, however it does remain an extremely popular idea.
Citations below the spoiler, if you're interested.
Spoiler!
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Study after study has shown that matching instructional mode to a student’s supposedly identified “learning style” does not produce better learning outcomes. In fact, a student’s “learning style” may not even predict the way they prefer to be taught or the way they actually choose to study on their own (Newton & Salvi, 2020).
Simply put, students’ learning preferences as identified via questionnaires do not predict the singular, best way to teach them. A single student may learn best with one approach in one subject and a different one in another. The best approach for them may even vary day-to-day. Most likely, students are best served when a variety of strategies are employed in a lesson.
https://educationonline.ku.edu/commu...s-need-to-know
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Although the literature on learning styles is enormous, very few studies have even used an experimental methodology capable of testing the validity of learning styles applied to education. Moreover, of those that did use an appropriate method, several found results that flatly contradict the popular meshing hypothesis. We conclude therefore, that at present, there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning-styles assessments into general educational practice. Thus, limited education resources would better be devoted to adopting other educational practices that have a strong evidence base, of which there are an increasing number. However, given the lack of methodologically sound studies of learning styles, it would be an error to conclude that all possible versions of learning styles have been tested and found wanting; many have simply not been tested at all. Further research on the use of learning-styles assessment in instruction may in some cases be warranted, but such research needs to be performed appropriately.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26162104/
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A recent review of the scientific literature on learning styles found scant evidence to clearly support the idea that outcomes are best when instructional techniques align with individuals’ learning styles. In fact, there are several studies that contradict this belief. It is clear that people have a strong sense of their own learning preferences (e.g., visual, kinesthetic, intuitive), but it is less clear that these preferences matter.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...arning-styles/
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research surrounding learning styles is sparse and sometimes critical. It’s true that many students have a preference for one of the four learning styles. As of yet, however, no link has been found between a preferred learning style and academic achievement.[5]
This means that while students may have personal preferences, they don’t actually learn better using one style over another.[1] Because the theories have been around for decades and still fail to produce a measurable effect, an increasing number of educators question the extent to which they should deliberately use them in class.[7]
Rather than an educational theory, some researchers view learning styles as more of a personality test.[2] It can be useful to know which learning medium your students like the most to help them engage more with your lessons. But if you’re looking for a theory that models how the brain actually works, learning styles may not be it.
https://www.waterford.org/education/...styles-theory/
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Many people, including educators, believe learning styles are set at birth and predict both academic and career success even though there is no scientific evidence to support this common myth, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
Previous research has shown that the learning styles model can undermine education in many ways. Educators spend time and money tailoring lessons to certain learning styles for different students even though all students would benefit from learning through various methods. Students study in ways that match their perceived learning style even though it won’t help them succeed. Some teacher certification programs incorporate learning styles into their courses, which perpetuates the myth for the next generation of teachers. Academic support centers and a plethora of products also are focused on learning styles, despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting them.
https://www.apa.org/news/press/relea...ng-styles-myth
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Endless potential frameworks for categorizing learning styles exist, but the most popular one divides students into three types: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. According to this theory, a self-reported visual learner learns best through visual content, while an auditory learner finds visual content less helpful than auditory material.
Yet the overwhelming consensus among scholars is that no scientific evidence backs this “matching” hypothesis of learning styles (Kirschner 2017, Pashler 2008, Simmonds 2014). While all learners can develop subjective preferences for studying or digesting material, studies deny that students learn better through a self-reported learning style. Instead, scholars increasingly call for educators to replace ‘neuromyths’ with resources and strategies rooted in evidence from cognitive and adult learning theory.
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