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Dustin Witten

ENG 1201

Workman

23 March 2020

Are Learning Styles Beneficial?

It has become increasingly popular for schools to use the theory of learning styles to get

their students to the best outcomes possible. This is done with nothing but good intentions, but

are learning styles beneficial to students? Research has not come up with any evidence

supporting their use, yet teachers all around the world still insist on using them. The lack of

evidence does not mean there will never be any scientific backing, but then why do we continue

to utilize these techniques if we currently don’t have any?

Learning styles are described as how learners gather, sift through, interpret, organize,

come to conclusions about, and “store” information that they will use in the future (Chick). The

styles can be categorized as visual, aural, verbal, and kinesthetic. However, no research has been

gathered to support the idea that learning styles better help students learn and retain the

information they are presented. Even though an individual learner may not benefit from their

own learning style, different disciplines may be taught better depending on the style used.

Learning styles can be traced back to Aristotle, who believed that children all possess different

talents and skills that carried over into their academic lives (Haswell). Schools and educators
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sometimes hold onto the idea that they need to influence students to use their individual

preferred learning styles for the best academic outcomes.

Researching learning styles will almost always brings you to the point that there is no

scientific evidence backing their use, however teachers still insist on their beneficial effects. This

argument is ongoing as educational facilities still practice learning styles without reason. “While

all learners can develop subjective preferences for studying or digesting material, studies deny

that students learn better through a self-reported learning style.” (“Learning Styles as a Myth”).

Many call out the harm that comes from their use, as well as showing statistics on teacher’s

belief.

While research does not show that accommodating learning styles helps students

individually, it does show to harm overall education. Studies have shown that more than 90% of

the world's teachers believe in learning styles (Gritzali) Teachers spend large portions of their

time creating lesson plans that tailor to, what they believe to be, their students preferred and most

beneficial learning styles. This wastes the instructors time as students will benefit from learning

with various styles (Nancekivell). Even with the lack of scientific evidence, many teaching

certification programs teach aspiring teachers to use these learning styles. On top of this, a large

number of educational products are focused around learning styles. This leads students to study

only using the style they believe fits them best, limiting their success.

Students who have found their method of learning can take such a strong hold to it that

they begin to do themselves harm (Newton and Miah). The student may not venture outside of

the style they had adopted, even when it may be necessary. At times, they may miss out on entire

opportunities because it doesn’t fit into their style. Or they may harm themselves by becoming
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overconfident in a subject that matches their style that they don’t put the needed effort in and end

up falling short.

Students also often believe in the benefits of allowing individuals to practice their

preferred method of learning. Students at Chantilly High School took a survey to find out what

types of learners attend their school. The school took a survey on 312 of their student’s preferred

learning styles, 60.9% classified themselves as visual learners, 39.5% as kinesthetic, 10.3% as

auditory, and 3.9% as other. The students also weighed their opinions in, “I don’t really think the

standard way of teaching applies to everyone because everyone is different, … Everyone retains

information differently so assuming that everyone will learn the same way is incorrect.” (qtd. In

Tucker).
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Works Cited

Chick, Nancy. “Learning Styles.” Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University, 6 Nov. 2019,

cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/learning-styles-preferences/.

Gritzali, et al. “The Learning Styles Educational Neuromyth: Lack of Agreement Between

Teachers' Judgments, Self-Assessment, and Students' Intelligence.” Frontiers, Frontiers,

14 Nov. 2018, www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2018.00105/full.

Haswell, Joanna. “Merrimack ScholarWorks.” Merrimack ScholarWorks, Merrimack College,

2017,

scholarworks.merrimack.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=honors_capston

es.

“Learning Styles as a Myth: Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning.” Learning Styles as a

Myth | Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning,

poorvucenter.yale.edu/LearningStylesMyth.

Nancekivell, Shaylene. “Belief in Learning Styles Myth May Be Detrimental.” American

Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 30 May 2019,
www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/learning-styles-myth.
Newton, Philip M, and Mahallad Miah. “Evidence-Based Higher Education - Is the Learning
Styles 'Myth' Important?” Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media S.A., 27 Mar.
2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5366351/.
Tucker, Sydney. “Teaching Methods Should Accommodate Learning Styles.” The Purple Tide,

27 Feb. 2019, chantillynews.org/4242/opinions/teaching-methods-should-accommodate-

learning-styles/.