Learning Styles And Teaching Styles

Some educational systems have already begun to make use of learning styles, yet there is surprisingly little research on the benefits for it. While there is a significant amount of research on theories about learning styles, studies which have actual measurable data are few and far between. Even the conclusions of the existing research are "equivocal at best and deeply contradictory at best". [cite]

One such study was able to demonstrate that accommodating all learning styles "created a learning environment in which a student 's learning style did not affect the student 's course grade"[cite]. The study in question examined the grades given out for a course before and after the lesson plans were redesigned to accommodate all learning styles[cite?]. While their result of evening the playing field for students of all learning styles is promising support of their usage in education, not all studies have reached the same conclusion.

Another study which tried to match the learning style of the students to the teaching styles of the teacher concluded that "[n]o effect of matching teaching styles with learning styles on students ' ... achievement was found"[cite]. Given the limited amount of research available on the subject, and the contradictory nature of the results, there is no clear evidence that any educational system stands to benefit from incorporating learning styles into their classes.

On top of the questionable benefits, bringing learning styles into education is not a straightforward process. Existing research gives no clear methodology for what to do with their models, as one study found "the literature fails to provide adequate support for applying learning-style assessments in school settings"[cite].

Befo...

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...ons seem like a good choice to me. Without fail, these quizzes make me feel like I 'm sitting on the fence between categories and getting dragged to one side simply because the questions were poorly designed.

Regardless of my personal learning style, I wish that content was simply provided in the most effective format, and it seems to me that the most effective format for different information does not rely on your learning style. Learning to tie a knot should be learnt by tying knots, as it should ideally end up in your muscle memory. The rise and fall of a stock over time should be presented visually because the eye can take in and understand the general movement significantly faster than any other way of taking in information. I feel that educators should worry less about learning styles, and more about whether they are presenting information in the best format.