Is Learning Magical?

by Staci Saner - July 27, 2021
Is Learning Magical?
Have you ever said, “I am a visual learner,” to someone as they tried to read something to you? When I was in an anatomy class during my undergraduate degree, I remember sitting down with my Netter Atlas and reading aloud to learn anatomical structures. I did very well on my next exam. At that point, I concluded I was an Auditory Learner who learned best when able to hear content. It was a wonderful discovery! Now, I did recall people discussing how they were Visual, Auditory, Reading, or Kinesthetic learners (VARK), but I had not put that into practice for myself at that point. As you can imagine, studying became a challenge—for others, that is.  I would read aloud to myself thinking I had to hear information to get it to my brain. My roommates would complain, I couldn’t study at the library, and studying outside in Illinois during the middle of January was not an option. I found out that the student union building opened at 5 am, so I started getting up very early to find a secluded spot in the union to read out loud. As you can imagine, that did not last more than a few months, but I still did fine in my classes even without reading everything for the world to hear.
 
It was not until several years later, however, that I found out that I was not actually an auditory learner. I perceived myself as an auditory learner. But I wasn’t a visual learner, a reading-writing learner, or a kinesthetic learner either. In fact, I am all of these, and you and your learners are too. To state this as simply as possible: there is no evidence to support learning styles. Learning styles are a myth that keeps rearing its ugly head. We all have learning preferences or a way that we perceive we like to learn. But the best way to learn is multi-modal, or a combination of modalities with the learner actually doing something with the information in their head. 

The learning-style acronym VARK was coined in 1987 by Neil D. Fleming, an educator in New Zealand, where he noticed that some well-respected educators were unable to help all their learners excel. Fleming went on to explain, “I decided to try to solve this puzzle. There are, of course, many reasons for what I observed. But one topic seemed to hold some magic, some explanatory power, preferred modes of learning.” This was the beginning of learning styles. But, to date, there is no scientific evidence that supports learning styles, NONE!
 

In fact, a 2019 article from the American Psychological Association reported that 90% of the 668 participants in one study–including educators—believed that people learn best when they are taught in their “predominate” learning style. To say this myth is widespread is an understatement. Since we know that many of our learners think that their learning depends on the educator’s use of teaching strategies that match their preferred learning style, what can we do? 

Fortunately, cognitive scientists have identified many methods to enhance knowledge acquisition, and these techniques have universal benefits. Students are more successful when they space out their study over time, experience the material in multiple modalities, test themselves on the material as part of their study practices, and learner elaboration on material to make meaningful connections rather than engaging in activities that involve simple repetition of information (e.g., making flashcards or recopying notes). These effective strategies were identified decades ago and have convincing and significant empirical support. Why then, do we persist in our belief that learning styles matter, and ignore these tried-and-true techniques?

It is human nature to create understandings by using categories, and some cognitive psychologists suggest that learning styles have taken hold due to the way it gives us simple, specific categories to use and understand. The popularity of the learning styles mythology may also stem in part from the appeal of finding out what “type of person” you are, along with the desire to be treated as an individual within the education system. In contrast, the notion that universal, multi-modal strategies may enhance learning for all contradicts the general notion that humans are distinctive in how they learn. 
We should not only make sure learners know and understand effective learning strategies, but we need to reinforce that learning styles are a myth with no scientific evidence. In addition, most empirically supported methods involve preparing (e.g., scheduling study sessions over a series of days) and significant effort. Learning is hard work, and there is no magical shortcut. 

For more information and connections to the research, check out the links in this post. Additionally, this 15 min video was the inspiration to write this blog. Share it with your learners next time they say, “oh, I’m a visual learner.”  

Additional References: 

Nancekivell, S. E., Shah, P., & Gelman, S. A. (2020). Maybe they’re born with it, or maybe it’s experience: Toward a deeper understanding of the learning style myth. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(2), 221. 


American Psychological Association. (2019, May 29). Belief in learning styles myth may be detrimental [Press release]. http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/learning-styles-myth