Today I had yet another experience in a Higher Ed classroom based on the persistent myth of learning styles.
This time I asked a welcoming question to a gifted student who had arrived to class. How are you? The response was interesting. Oh, I just did a VARK questionnaire and I am so relieved because it showed me what I knew - I am not a visual or auditory learner.
Conversations or revelations such as these break my heart really and are really still all too frequent. The sad thing is that somewhere in a Higher Education institution someone is handing out these questionnaires, the students are getting their individualised feedback and everyone is feeling good about themselves.
The problem is - it is just not true.
In my professional life, I want to be able to clearly, calmly share the evidence that we have had for over 30 years now that learning styles are an edu-myth. The bigger problem and reality is that I really don't think many listen. It must be true because it pervades educational discourse still. I feel like an outlier.
So, if anyone is interested at all here are three clear references that all link to much of the available evidence.
Read them and come to your own judgment about whether you will continue to justify the propagation of this lazy and damaging edu-myth in your own teaching.
This time I asked a welcoming question to a gifted student who had arrived to class. How are you? The response was interesting. Oh, I just did a VARK questionnaire and I am so relieved because it showed me what I knew - I am not a visual or auditory learner.
Conversations or revelations such as these break my heart really and are really still all too frequent. The sad thing is that somewhere in a Higher Education institution someone is handing out these questionnaires, the students are getting their individualised feedback and everyone is feeling good about themselves.
The problem is - it is just not true.
In my professional life, I want to be able to clearly, calmly share the evidence that we have had for over 30 years now that learning styles are an edu-myth. The bigger problem and reality is that I really don't think many listen. It must be true because it pervades educational discourse still. I feel like an outlier.
So, if anyone is interested at all here are three clear references that all link to much of the available evidence.
Read them and come to your own judgment about whether you will continue to justify the propagation of this lazy and damaging edu-myth in your own teaching.