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Match to Learning Styles, or Match to the Material
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By Gabriel Martinez, January 25, 2010 in Pedagogy and Teaching

A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education reports a psychological study that casts doubt on the popular (among certain types) hypothesis that because different people learn differently, we should adapt our teaching to the kinds of students we have. Instead, it seems that

for a given lesson, one instructional technique turns out to be optimal for all groups of students, even though students with certain learning styles may not love that technique.

What there does seem to be evidence for is that teachers who have gone through a "learning styles" workshop improve their teaching (however that is measured). Perhaps

the mere act of learning about learning styles prompts teachers to pay more attention to the kinds of instruction they are delivering. An instructor who attends a learning styles seminar might start to offer a broader mixture of lectures, discussions, and laboratory work—and that variety of instruction might turn out to be better for all students, irrespective of any "matching."

In other words, better teachers are teachers who pay attention to their material and to whether the students are actually absorbing it. "Wow, go figure," the cynic in me wants to say. But then again, some of us do need to be reminded to pay attention once in a while.

Tags: Education

2 Comments
Lee Trepanier on Jan 25, 2010 at 10:34 am

I've read the same article. It seems to be the current trend in pedagogical to talk about different learning styles. Although I think there is some merit in discussion about such a topic, I often fear that content becomes subordinate to process in these types of talk.

David Kidd on Jan 28, 2010 at 2:47 pm

You raise an interesting point, though, as your say, it's not terribly surprising. I wonder if you think it's worthwhile for schools to compel teachers to take "learning styles" workshops, or is there some way to persuade teachers to pay more attention to the way they teach without subordinating content to process?

about the author

Gabriel Martinez
Gabriel Martinez

I am Associate Professor of Economics and Chairman of the Department of Economics at Ave Maria University. I have been in the Economics Department since its beginning and have taught over fifteen different courses at Ave Maria University, particularly in the areas of macroeconomics, international economics, development economics, Catholic social teaching, economic history, and social philosophy. My two favorite courses to teach are Intermediate Macroeconomics and Markets, State, and Institutions.

My work is in the general area of international finance and open-economy macroeconomics, with a focus on developing countries. My dissertation focused on the 1999 economic collapse in Ecuador,using a combination of historical, theoretical, and empirical analyses. My paper on the role of deregulation, moral hazard, and overconfidence in the Ecuadorian financial crisis was published by the Cambridge Journal of Economics. Financial crises are a perennial topic, with causes that are complex and deep, inextricably intermingled with politics and ethics. My Ph.D. is from the University of Notre Dame.