In a recent podcast episode my friend Joe Clausi and I challenged Chat GPT in a game of “What’s Hot and What’s Not?” We asked the AI site for trending topics in education, and then tried to decide if they were accurate or not. The first topic we tackled was learning styles, and ChatGPT indicated that the notion of tailoring teaching methods to preferred student learning styles has been debunked by research. My initial reaction was can't be right, isn't supported by evidence, and it’s certainly not the consensus amongst educators. Well, did I ever have that wrong!
A quick google search led me to a host of articles that re-educated me on all the work that’s been done in the last twenty years on learning styles, and that there are in fact a range of theories. To be clear, there are ample theories and studies to support the various ways people learn. However, the validity of using learning styles in education has definitely been called into question. In fact, several studies have made the claim that learning styles are in fact a “neuromyth”.
Another interesting question that came up in a quick scan of the articles was putting learning styles aside, and wondering how to better meet the needs of students for whom public school doesn’t fit the bill. What about those who drop out or don't complete Gr. 12 , or their college or university programs? Do our schools meet the needs of all our students? Or do our systems and institutions themselves constitute a barrier for some of our students?
For more in-depth reading check out these articles:
- “Learning Styles and Pedagogy in Post-16 Learning: A systematic and critical review,” Frank Coffield, Elaine Hall, and Kathryn Ecclestone (2004). London: Learning and Skills Research Centre. https://tinyurl.com/yfyjjkmy
- Jérémie Blanchette Sarrasin and Steve Masson, (29 September 2015) in "Neuromyths in Education", EdCan Network, Canadian Education Association
- Sanne Dekker, Nikki C Lee, Paul Howard-Jones, and Jelle Jolles, (18 October 2012) in "Neuromyths in education: prevalence and predictors of misconceptions among teachers" in Frontiers in Psychology. 3: 429.
