Learning preference has been thought to be a key aspect of successful teaching strategies. There is little research that supports this theory. Evidence based teaching is the most effective measurement of successful teaching strategies.

One argument against catering to specific styles of learning is grounded in the matter of the content a student is learning. Content plays an important role in how it is taught in spite of a specific learning style (Jarrett, 2015). If a student is a visual learner, teaching topics such as an instrument or a language pictorially may not be as effective or achieve the desired outcomes as placing an emphasis on the verbal and textbook content that is necessary to learn a language or instrument.

Another hindrance to catering to learning styles are the many different learning styles that exist and a student’s understanding of their learning style (Jarrett, 2015). In identifying learning style, some believe that the tools used to measure learning styles are unreliable and not reflective of a person’s true achievement in learning (Jarrett, 2015). The fault comes in a student’s perception of their learning style. A student may believe they are visual learner but their performance does not correlate to better learning. Jarrett, 2015, suggests that a better tool for evaluating a learning style is to refer to previous courses where their performance was optimal and evaluate the learning methods used in that class.

Identifying with a specific learning style can also limit students to specific subjects or topics. If a student is identified as being a visual learner and carries this belief, they may be dissuaded from attempting subjects that are not traditionally visually taught (Newton & Miah, 2017). This makes the theory of learning styles more harmful than helpful to students by the potential to limit a student’s participation in a topic.

The biggest problem with teaching to a learning style is the disservice done to the students. Compensating for a learning style does not allow a student to overcome their weaknesses in learning nor does it allow a novice student to branch into a higher ability to grasp concepts to become a better learner.

The better option for successful teaching outcomes is to utilize evidence based teaching strategies rather than individualizing teaching to learning styles. Measuring outcomes of classes and correlating the teaching strategies used for that subject affords the best results.

References:

Jarrett, C. (2015). All you need to know about the learning styles myth. Retrieved from: https://www.wired.com/2015/01/need-know-learning-styles-myth-two-minutes/

Newton, P. & Miah, M. (2017). Evidence based higher education – is the learning styles myth important? Frontiers in Psychology, 8, p. 444.