The realm of Education has been long filled with the "newest and greatest" fads, gimmicks and methods. One of the many fads has related to student learning styles. Scientists proposed that students either exhibited one of the three learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Learning styles relates to how a student learns best. Students who exhibit the learning styles learn best by listening, seeing and doing, respectively. These are all how students learn best and as teachers we are supposed to work with the students to make the best learning take place. Many educators around the nation have students take tests which state which learning style they are. I remember taking numerous test such as these in high school "to know myself as a learner". Researchers have debunked these based on the lack of evidence and I agree. The first article that I found which debunk learning styles was found on Mind/Shift. The website states that the scientific research on learning styles is so weak and unconvincing and it is not justify incorporating learning style assessments into general education practices. In other words, students and educators should focus on other ideals, such as having students see information in a variety of formats. For example, flash cards, where students see the information in a pictorial and verbal format. Another article stated that leading experts believe the learning styles myth is not just a misconception but likely causing harm to students. The learning styles approach encourages teachers to teach students' according tho their intellectual strengths rather than their weaknesses In reality, students need to correct and compensate for their shortcomings, not avoid them.
I do not think that learning styles are true. I myself learn using all three of these "styles". It is an educators job to tap into students ability and stretch their ability to learn in a variety of formats. As a future educator, I am responsible for knowing which education "fads, gimmicks and methods are worth wild.
Sources:
- Association for Psychological Science. "Education: Learning styles debunked." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 December 2009.
. - http://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/
- http://www.wired.com/2015/01/need-know-learning-styles-myth-two-minutes/
- http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/04/13/do-students-have-different-learning-styles/
Emily,
ReplyDeleteThroughout my teaching career, I have always thought that I agreed with the learning styles. I think I agreed because I thought that I learned best when I was up doing things with the lesson.
Just recently I heard that this was a myth and that our job is to teach students to learn in every teaching style. I now agree with this and disagree with the starting statement. When I look back and think about the lessons that had me moving and experimenting I realize that there was more to it than just the movements in general. I did not consider the other parts of learning that were taking place either before, after, or during the lesson. Now I see that you can incorporate many different learning styles into one lesson and make it a whole new learning style.