In the article “The Myth of Learning Styles,” authors Cedar Riener and Daniel Willingham (2010) question whether learning styles actually effectively play a role in a student’s learning. They begin by defining what a learning style is, which is explain as how a student best learns from the information they receive, and currently learning styles are most commonly described through sensory, such as visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning styles (Riener & Willingham, 2010). Riener and Willingham (2010) argue that there are no learning styles, but rather that learning depends on a student’s prior knowledge, background, and interests. They address this by providing three myths of learning styles, one myth that is correct and two that are not. …show more content…
The second myth states that aside from ability and content, students have a preferred learning style that has an impact on how they learn and perform (Riener & Willingham, 2010). The third and last myth presented is that if teachers were to match their teaching to student’s preferred learning styles, then students would learn better and improve (Riener & Willingham, 2010). Riener and Willingham conclude by examining that although students say they have a preferred learning style, research shows that there really is no difference if a student is taught in their preferred style or not, but rather student learning depends highly on prior knowledge and experience, because every student has different prior knowledge and their own unique experience with learning that every student may perform better on the content they specifically understood more and/or found more interesting (Riener & Willingham,
It is practical to assume that students will do better in tasks that reflect their particular style of learning, so knowledge of students’ learning styles, including a variety of tasks will make teaching more inclusive. A learning style questionnaire could be handed out at the start of a course which, once completed will inform the teacher about the learning styles of the students.
“Just as students have different personalities, they also have different ways of learing (Slavin, 107).” Learning styles are another important factor to incorporate when implementing the best learning environment. Learning styles are defined as an individual's mode of gaining knowledge. The most common learning styles addressed are auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory leaners understand information through hearing. Visual learners need more visual aids in the learning process, such as diagrams, webs, or pictures. Kinesthetic learners learn better by using manipulatives or by being physically involved in the learning process. Learning styles is a piece of the “backbone” of differentiated learning. Both are used to individualize instruction to help students achieve the most success.
Learning styles of individual students vary and as a consequence, learning needs also change from each student to the next (Liew, Sidhu, & Barua, 2015). The “styles” for learning that are widely adopted include the Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) model, developed by Fleming and Mills (1992) include Visual (V), Auditory (A), Read/Write (R) and Kinaesthetic (K) types of learning approaches. The Visual (V) learner learns best by the use of information by visual means (using of charts, mindmaps, and other visual aids). The Auditory (A) learner understands best by
Teachers are champions of learning. They work endlessly to push students to succeed and grow. They teach them to be better readers, writers, mathematicians, scientist, historians and artists. Teachers are constantly evaluating what they can do to help their students learn and to achieve personal goals, life goals, and become productive members of society. However, not all learners have the same learning style and not all teachers have the same teaching methods. Learning styles are the result of a learners preferred ways of learning and taking into consideration the learning environment (Lisko & O’Dell, 2010). It is important for students to know and understand their own learning
Whether you believe learning styles are a myth or fact they still can help you learn the material for class. Just because you take this test online and it says that you are one hundred percent auditory learner doesn’t mean you can’t learn other ways. Learning styles can help you discover more creative ways for you to remember a topic or specific details. How Amy made a poster it helped her present her topic but also helped her learn and remember her topic. By writing it down and being creative you will remember the topic a lot better. I’m not a firm believer in learning styles but I do think that they can help. I am an auditory learner so listening helps me learn although it isn’t the only way I can learn. One of the ken talks we had watched
In order to effectively teach students with different learning styles, I will most likely be using this website for ideas. Education.com has everything. They tell you how to know what styles your children are better with and give you some activities that you can use to reach all of those students. On their site, you can find specific activities for any grade, or subject, up through high school. For example, I will be teaching third grade so I would go and look under third grade and then go under whatever subject I need, such as math. Once there, I just scroll through and pick an activity that allows student to interact with each other while practicing the subject and having fun. I can also use
All learners have different learning styles. Using materials at the initial stage of the learning process can highlight preferred styles. Honey and Mumford show four learning styles – activists, theorists, reflectors and pragmatists, while VAK highlights visual, auditory and kinaesthetic preferences.
In this chapter I learned about my learning style and how different learning styles impact our lives.
Whether being in a lecture class or in a work setting, every individual has a specific learning style that best fits them. Some people prefer to understand life interactively while others may prefer logical, concrete, or practical types of comprehension. From the cognitive aspect, individuals receive and process information differently which describes their learning style. According to the “Cultural Determinants of Learning Style Preferences” article, learning styles are cognitive, affective, and physiological traits that aid as stable indicators of how individuals perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning circumstances (Holtbrugge & Mohr, 2010). The various learning styles include the assimilating, converging,
After taking the learning style inventory, I was not surprise to find that I am a global learner. However, I am almost a pretty good split between the two learning styles. But, when it comes to thinking and test taking I am both analytical and global.
For years, there have been many theorists who have shared their views on how individuals learn. Such research has determined that individuals have different learning styles. It is important for teacher to understand the learning styles of both themselves and their students because it helps them to relay the subject knowledge to the students. The teacher is in a position where they must be able to assess the learning styles of their students. This means that the students and teachers are both in a process of learning.
What are "learning styles"? The topic of learning styles has been discussed throughout the academic world for several years, but do we really understand how it affects the way students learn? From public school to higher education, different learning styles can be found everywhere. The three main types of learning styles are visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic (hands on) . Each style reflects the main ability of how the individual learns best. Visual learners need to see the speaker and watch facial expressions in order to comprehend the material. They learn best from visual displays and often prefer to take detailed notes during lectures. According to researchers , visual
Willingham, D. T., Hughes, E. M., & Dobolyi, D. G. (2015). The scientific status of learning styles theories. Teaching of Psychology, 42(3), 266-271. doi:10.1177/0098628315589505
At the beginning of the semester an assignment was given out in regards to assessing your learning styles. Upon doing the assignment I felt that I already knew the results I would obtain due to the fact that I did the same assignment my sophomore year of college. I was totally surprised with my results because they showed that I am becoming a more balanced learner. In previous assignments the results would usually show that I am more of one type of learner than another. My learning styles reflected that I am an active, sensory, visual and global learner. Knowing this aided in my success in this class as well as others because I started to apply this information into how I prepared or retained information for classes.
A second urban legend indicates that learners know that their learning style and that good instruction should be tailored to that style. Kirschner and van Merrienboer while citing various research studies indicating that learning styles only classify people into groups see three specific problems with this urban legend. First, a person may not fit into one specific learning style. Second, when individuals complete a particular measure of learning style at two different times, reliability