Learning Styles and Pedagogy

Learning and Skills Research Centre has completed a systematic and critical review of learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning.

It is a bit of a beast (182 pages), but it does a thorough job of examining and reviewing the 13 most influential learning models.

With a serious risk of oversimplifying the findings let me try and summarise the appeal and doubts surrounding learning styles…

Appeal

• For learning to take place, we must know how people learn; we must know what model to operate in
• Learning styles respect differences in individuals
• There is knowledge that traditional methods fail many people, and learning styles are a simple solution to this
• Learning styles can be used to increase self-awareness about individuals’ strengths and weaknesses
• Individuals can become knowledgeable about their own learning
• Learning styles question individuals’ behaviour
• Learning styles offer more control; more effective learning
• Individuals can choose an appropriate strategy

Doubts

• There is a wide variety of learning styles, all provided for different purposes and from different perspectives - there are a large number of models, mostly sampling a small group of students, and in specific contexts
• Learning styles are now used commercially and are highly protected. Therefore any criticism is not welcome
• There is the risk of ‘labelling’ individuals, and a belief that traits cannot be altered
• There is a varying level of quality in the models
• There is a lack of empirical evidence of effectiveness of the strategies. There is serious doubt over the reliability and consistency of results – most models are inconclusive with no clear evidence about their stability over a lifetime (and therefore cannot be recommended)
• There is no one language or agreed vocabulary of learning styles – instead they overlap and compete with each other
• Even for those that believe in the individualistic approach, the models are not successful at ‘measuring’ people’s preferences
• There is doubt over the use of language (especially in translation) and mechanics (Are people’s first answers the most accurate?)

Summary (as I understand it)

Learning can be enhanced when students have self-awareness about their own behaviours and they (and their teachers) play to their strengths. But, there is a such a wide variety of learning style models - each one developed in isolation, with no agreed vocabulary, and with varying degrees of quality, and such a lack of empirical evidence – that no single model can be recommended.

Many have called for the integration, consolidation, and rationalisation of the various models, but – due to the diverse nature of the models and the commercial factors now involved – this is not likely.