When I heard the argument about “Learning Styles as a Myth ”  argument, I was surprised. Learning Styles are common believe and al instructors are trying to cover all the learning styles during their training programs.  When I did some research, I found a lot of articles about this subject. The articles around this view were based on “not having enough evidence to prove that people learn better when the material presented the way that they prefer to receive the information”.

The Association for Psychological Science Psychological Science in the Public Interest Journal published (Dec, 2018) a report written by a group of psychologists concerning the learning-styles hypothesis. The report was about examining research on the learning styles hypothesis helps to reinvigorate both educational practice and learning theory (Mayer,2018). The report was justifying “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.” (Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, & Bjork, 2008).

According to all the evidence that the scientists are presenting, knowing students learning styles, and delivering the information accordingly don’t help them to learn better. For instance, Prestigious universities like Yale University is recommending the educators to focus on active learning, group work, and inclusive teaching strategies. It is easier rather than focusing on more than 71 separate learning-style instruments and theories that have been documented in education literature (“Learning Styles as a Myth,” n.d.).

I think that it is not realistic to cover all learning style needs for every group and every subject.  As a corporate trainer, for instance, it is challenging for me to know all of my participants’ learning styles when I am designing and conducting a training program. I prefer to focus on active learning techniques (discussions, role-plays, games, case studies, videos, articles, etc.) to engage them in the program.

I believe educators should focus on designing an efficient learning environment with effective teaching methods (scientifically proven methods) rather than concerning different learning styles that now proven that they are not scientific enough.

REFERENCES

Learning Styles as a Myth. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/LearningStylesMyth  

Mayer, R.E., Advances in Applying the Science of Learning and Instruction to Education. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), i-ii.

Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105-119.