An Educational Myth – Instruction Tailored to Students Learning Styles Leads to Success

A new study offers further evidence against the "learning styles" theory-the idea that students can process information best when teachers tailor instruction to students' strengths. The present study looked at whether self-assessment and teacher assessment agreed in the identification of preferred LS in primary school-aged pupils. Results showed that there was no correlation between the two. Findings, moreover, suggest that the teachers do not see intellectual ability as a proxy for a particular learning style. This was the first study to investigate these questions and one of the few studies within the LS literature to employ a sample of primary school students. It adds to the growing body of critical literature about the use of LS in educational settings.

Papadatou-Pastou, M., Gritzali, M., & Barrable, A. (2018) The learning styles educational neuromyth: Lack of agreement between teachers' judgments, self-assessment, and students' intelligence. Front. Educ., 3(105). http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2018.00105