A business man standing in front of two-way road with a directional sign displaying Fact and Myth.

Demystifying Learning With Evidence

Blog Date: January 14, 2025

Do you believe in learning styles? If you said “yes,” you’re not alone. Learning styles are a popular idea, but research shows they’re more myth than fact. This blog explores how we learn using evidence-based strategies and debunks the learning styles myth.

 

About Me

 

Hi! I’m Tom, a learning designer focused on evidence-based education. As science progresses, so does our understanding of how people learn. It’s important that our teaching methods are grounded in solid research to improve learning outcomes.

 

What is Learning?

 

Learning is a process that leads to change resulting from experience and potentially increases future learning performance (Lovett et al., 2023). It’s ongoing, and it shapes how we think and act. Learning can occur from learners’ performances or products and comprises a change in knowledge, behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes, which occur over time and has a long-term effect on the way learners think and act.

 

The Learning Styles Myth

 

I am sure at one time or another you may have heard someone talk about their learning style, referring to their personal style in which they learn best, such as visually or auditorily. Research doesn’t show strong evidence to support this. There are three major problems with learning styles (Kirschner & van Merrienboer, 2013):

 

  1. Most people don’t fit neatly into a single style.
  2. Learning style measurements are insufficient and often based on self-perception.
  3. There is far too many reported learning style models to apply meaningfully in instruction.

 

Just like preferring to relax on the couch isn’t better for your health than exercising, preferring a learning style doesn’t mean it’s the most effective way to learn. Studies show matching instruction to learning styles doesn’t improve outcomes.

 

Kirschner (2017) concluded that:

 

  • Learning styles isn’t a fact, but rather a belief that lacks solid scientific backing.
  • There are fundamental issues regarding measuring learning styles.
  • The theoretical connection between learning styles and instructional methods are weak.
  • There’s very little empirical evidence for the learning styles hypothesis.

 

Using Evidence-Based Practices

 

Instead of relying on myths, we should use teaching strategies grounded in evidence. These methods lead to better student outcomes and help us grow as educators. One such approach is using Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), which explains learning as a result of the continuous interaction between individuals, their behavior, and their environment (Denler et al., 2010).

 

The five key principles of SCT:

 

  1. Observational Learning/Modeling: Learning through observing other people’s behavior or skills in an environment.
  2. Outcome Expectations: An individual’s beliefs about the results likely to occur if certain behaviors/actions were to be performed based upon past experiences and observations of others. This helps determine the behaviors and actions a person decides to make (or not make).
  3. Perceived Self-Efficacy: Confidence in one’s ability to succeed. Learners with greater self-efficacy tend to be more confident in their abilities than those with lower self-efficacy.
  4. Goal Setting: Creating plans for desired future outcomes.
  5. Self-Regulation: Learners manage their thoughts and actions to reach desired learning outcomes.

Many other evidence-based learning theories and principles exist, but SCT was used in this blog as an example to help us understand learning.

 

Conclusion

 

The belief in learning styles is persistent, but the evidence doesn’t support it. Don’t be afraid to maintain a healthy dose of curiosity and constructive skepticism when coming across well-known statements that are often passed along as evidence-based facts, like learning styles. Educators should rely on proven strategies to enhance student learning. By focusing on what research shows, we can create meaningful and effective learning experiences for all students.

 

References

 

Denler, H., Wolters, C., & Benzon, M. (2010). Social Cognitive Theory. In Anderman, E. M. & Anderman, L. H. (Eds.), Psychology of classroom learning: An encyclopedia. The Gale Group, Inc.

 

Kirschner, P. A. (2017). Stop propagating the learning styles myth. Computers & Education, 106, 166-171, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.12.006

 

Kirschner, P. A., & van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2013). Do learners really know best? Urban legends in education. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 169–183. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2013.804395

 

Lovett, M. C., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Ambrose, S. A., & Norman, M. K. (2023). How learning works: 8 research-based principles for smart teaching (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.