Re: Learning Styles Don't Exist

[dbw8m]

@suifaijohnmak well. . .I don't know about the CCK08, so I guess i would need more details to understand

[suifaijohnmak]

Thanks Daniel for sharing this. I could understand that Learning Style Theory may sound problematic when used in teaching, if learning is based on meaning, and so the focus should be how one could structure meaningful teaching to facilitate learning. How about learning? I have conducted research with CCK08, a massive open online course, and the results were that there were certain preferences amongst learners with preferences: with some Reflector, Pragmatist, Theorist, Activist - diff. style

[TurKdiRty]

learning is all about making connections with other bits of knowledge. the more connections you can make in one 'hit' / analogy what ever, the higher chance someone will learn it.

the quicker you learn something, the more chance you have of holding interest.

my two penniEs

[henrymptv]

Learning style theories serve to remind teachers to think about the subject from the student's point of view. One of the primary functions of learning style theories is to encourage teachers to explore a variety of learning modalities.

It is a mistake to dismiss Learning Styles theory, and demand that student's learn based on my teaching style.

[DaleInnisTube]

Ah, okay. :) I take back some of my comment on the original video. We agree that it's important to differentiate instruction based on relevant actual differences between learners; it's just that some particular theory that calls itself "learning styles" postulates differences between learners that don't actually exist. That's entirely possible. :) But while "Learning Styles (tm)" may not exist, I think it's pretty obviously true that learning styles do...

[musashi5o]

A teacher who differentiates instruction is making an effort to make the lesson more interesting. Who wants to hear the instructor droning on and on and on...remember Ben Stein?

[MaskoRightToLearn]

I found out by chance that we most definitely process our information differently. My husband and children, who are dyslexic, are most definitely visual. When we have teachers that insisted that there are no differences or "preferences" to a learning style my children suffer greatly. A one style reaches all simply equates to failure with my kids. Teaching in multi-sensory ways give my children a chance to excel. Knowing how to reach everyone is the reason that those who can teach well do so.

[spentonmediocrity]

@MaskoRightToLearn

Lol,yes. I have a friend who even though he is verbally advanced(speaks with lawyer-like precision)is dyslexic,can only spell phonetically and has the penmanship of a 4 year old.He never went to college(had a little training in the military however) YET he is an eletronics/RF engineer now. He has a wickedly sharp mind for simplifying/solving problems and is an electronics/physics nerd.

Obviously different styles exist.

[kangarc]

@MaskoRightToLearn : What you "found out", if anything, is that your husband and children are better with visual knowledge than with verbal knowledge. That's it, nothing more. Putting aside for a moment the fact that your study sample consisted of only 3-5 people, your "observation" is about content aptitude and has nothing to do with learning style. The false notion of learning styles is about how information is presented, not its actual content.

[elegantsolution]

Britain's NHS looked at learning styles for Dr. training and found there were about 100 theories. Many of these theories contradict each other and none are supported by evidence. In fact, most student don't try as hard if they think they are learning in their style. The field of education is filled with such fuzzy warm fads that need to be purged. However, we live in a world where people who don't read and don't know any facts think they are experts.

[palfreymmm]

Thanks for the interesting, clear, concise talk. I wonder though whether an "auditory learner" might not learn the shape of the country even better if the clearly useful visual representation were supplemented by a verbal description. Secondly, how about more cognitive (supposed) learning styles like "general-to-specific" and "specific-to-general": couldn't these be more relevant than sensory styles to "meaning knowledge" of the kind that you say teachers want to get across?

[sk8bow]

thank you for elaborating. i still believe it's better to focus on what's good about learning style theories compared to focusing on it's weak points.

change your title please!

[Nulty16]

Arguing for the LS

Its obvious that a person with poor visual LS will not learn material based in a visual modality such as the shape of a country as well as those with good visual LS. It is equally clear that this material cannot be learned aurally. Therefore some things will never be learned as well by people with poor visual LS compared to those with aptitude in this modality. Vice-versa. I dont think the theories are suggesting this. Perhaps you take the learning styles too broadly.

[kangarc]

@Nulty16 : "Its obvious..."

Sorry, that's not an arguement for LS. The fact remains that LS makes certain testable predictions, and when tested those predictions simply do not come true.

[Nulty16]

This for me is a complicated subject but you make a great point Dan.

These are *theories* after all. I think that the most important point you make is that there is no *evidence* to support them, which is the factor by which we employ theories. Although they make sense on the surface there are big implications \ consequences to following them to the tee in a class room based on a best guess.

Learning = Memory & Meaning

Is it then that

[geniusbychoice]

I was so excited to see this video because I have been saying the same thing to a clearly biased audience. I have been trying to figure out how these ideas became so perpetuated and engrained into the school system. I developed a learning system based on neuroscience, and part of the course talks about the myth of learning styles. I would like to send your video out to my mailing list. Is that okay? I work in this area and I know that for academic information, meaning is everything.

[dbw8m]

this video is available for download on my website, so feel free to forward to anyone you would like. . .

[lfrancisco23]

I agree to with what is said here. What is important to teaching is getting the students involved in the learning so that the students can draw meaning and association to the new concept. The student needs to internalize in order to retain the information.

Motivation is one of many other factors that have an effect on how well we learn the concept that is being taught... Learning, of course, is a very complex process.

[joshig1983]

What ways do you think are appropriate ways to differenciate instruction? You mentioned differentiating by a student's motivation, students personal interests but are there others?