Professor Daniel Willingham describes research showing that learning styles are a myth in this video. I unfortunately cannot remember how I came to learn about and view this video but I can report that this video influenced me to look further into the work of Dr. Willingham and as a result I am currently reading Willingham’s book Why Don’t Students Like School: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom
I am simply amazed when I learn that Youtube is filtered from most K-12 schools. What are we afraid of–our students learning.
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This theory does make sense to me. When I look at my own students and their differences, I think what some of them need is simply more time to understand. However, that time may need different ways of teaching the material until the way that works for them for that particular concept is found. It doesn’t mean that I should always look for an auditory example for predominantly auditory learners, but that I need to have a variety of ways to teach one thing so that whatever it is that “works” for each student is presented. Perhaps it is simply the repetition that helps.