In an Australian Journal of Education article, ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Catherine Scott examines the continued popularity of ‘learning styles’ as an explanation for differences in student achievement and argues that there is a lack of evidence to support the well-entrenched use of learning styles to guide effective teaching practice.

According to Scott, while the term ‘learning style’ has commonsense appeal, there is no generally accepted definition of what these ‘styles’ may be. Furthermore, she argues, there is considerable confusion over the concept itself. A multitude of models exists, based on a variety of perceptual, cognitive and physiological factors, including preferring to work alone or in groups, in the evening or the morning, when the temperature is high or low, and so on. Similarly, within these models a variety of tests exist for the purpose of assessing the learning styles of learners although some tests appear to lack evidence of reliability or validity.

Scott argues in her article that an apparent lack of evidence in support of tailoring instruction to individual’s learning styles has not prevented the term from being emphasised in discussions and recommendations about teaching practice. It also continues to influence what teachers do in their day-to-day work. Scott explains that the most popular models of learning styles evident in Australian schools derive from Fleming’s (2009) theory, which divides learning into three groups: visual, auditory and tactile/kinaesthetic.

Scott points to Australian universities as a possible source of the ongoing popularity of the concept of learning styles.  Her searches of the websites of Australian universities revealed numerous mentions of ‘learning styles’ that were overwhelmingly positive and promoting of the concept. For most universities, there were significantly more search hits for ‘learning styles’ than there were for ‘effective teaching’, which, Scott argues, has been shown to be a powerful positive influence on learning and an arguably highly effective component of teaching – feedback – may have been somewhat neglected.

Furthermore, Scott writes, an inspection of state education department websites reveals that ‘learning styles’ theory is actively promoted as an educational principle, backed by the existence of learning materials and professional development on the topic as well as the inclusion of the term in job descriptions.

Scott argues that learning styles theory may perpetuate the very stereotyping and harmful teaching practices it is said to combat and, in attempting to adapt classroom practice to learning styles, teachers can be distracted from models that Scott believes have proven benefits for children’s learning, such as effective feedback.

The Enduring Appeal of Learning Styles, by Catherine Scott, appears in the Australian Journal of Education, Volume 54, Number 1, published in April this year. Further information about the AJE is available from http://www.acer.edu.au/press/aje

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