Learning styles
It turns out there's really no such thing.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/daniel-willingham/the-big-idea-behind-learning.html
The Big Idea behind learning styles is that kids vary in how they learn: Some learn best by looking (visual learners), some by listening (auditory learners), and some by manipulating things (kinesthetic learners).
According to the theory, if we know what sort of a learner a child is, we can optimize his or her learning by presenting material the way that they like.
The prediction is straightforward: Kids learn better when they are taught in a way that matches their learning style than when they are taught in a way that doesn’t.
That’s a straightforward prediction.
The data are straightforward too: It doesn’t work.
It doesn't work--not only for the visual-auditory-kinesthetic theory, but for many other learning styles theories that have been proposed and tested since the 1940s.
Read the article for more.
This makes a certain amount of sense to me, because I've always liked using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning... I just like learning in general. I like to read, I like to look at pretty pictures, I like to doodle, I like to listen to lectures on CD, I like learning things like typing and crochet, I like listening to music, I like talking with people, etc. While I doubted that "kinesthetic" was a dominant mode for me -- I couldn't really pick between visual or auditory. I do both all the time.
Anyway, some discussion at Joanne Jacobs' site:
http://www.joannejacobs.com/2009/09/willingham-on-learning-styles/
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/daniel-willingham/the-big-idea-behind-learning.html
The Big Idea behind learning styles is that kids vary in how they learn: Some learn best by looking (visual learners), some by listening (auditory learners), and some by manipulating things (kinesthetic learners).
According to the theory, if we know what sort of a learner a child is, we can optimize his or her learning by presenting material the way that they like.
The prediction is straightforward: Kids learn better when they are taught in a way that matches their learning style than when they are taught in a way that doesn’t.
That’s a straightforward prediction.
The data are straightforward too: It doesn’t work.
It doesn't work--not only for the visual-auditory-kinesthetic theory, but for many other learning styles theories that have been proposed and tested since the 1940s.
Read the article for more.
This makes a certain amount of sense to me, because I've always liked using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning... I just like learning in general. I like to read, I like to look at pretty pictures, I like to doodle, I like to listen to lectures on CD, I like learning things like typing and crochet, I like listening to music, I like talking with people, etc. While I doubted that "kinesthetic" was a dominant mode for me -- I couldn't really pick between visual or auditory. I do both all the time.
Anyway, some discussion at Joanne Jacobs' site:
http://www.joannejacobs.com/2009/09/willingham-on-learning-styles/