Can learning styles be changed?

Question

Fleming's model of learning suggests 3 types of learners :

1. Visual: Learns by visually taking screenshots of data or by remembering pictures/scenes etc.

2. Auditory: Learns by hearing; can be by hearing oneself speak

3. Kinesthetic/Tactile: Learns by doing physically, experimenting or trying to convert a passive learning experience into a physically active/involved one.

I find myself to be a Tactile learner. I learn by doing, creating experiments. I struggle with imagery and audio for learning. Is there any way I can train myself to change my preferred learning type?

Answer 1

Pashler et al

It is worth reading the critical review of learning styles by Pashler et al. To quote some of the summary:

Our review of the literature disclosed ample evidence that children and adults will, if asked, express preferences about how they prefer information to be presented to them. There is also plentiful evidence arguing that people differ in the degree to which they have some fairly specific aptitudes for different kinds of thinking and for processing different types of information.

However, they reviewed experimental evidence comparing the learning outcomes of students that either were or were not assigned to educational interventions based on their learning style, and found almost no evidence of differences.

which was judged to be a precondition for validating the educational applications of learning styles. Although the literature on learning styles is enormous, very few studies have even used an experimental methodology capable of testing the validity of learning styles applied to education. Moreover, of those that did use an appropriate method, several found results that flatly contradict the popular meshing hypothesis.

We conclude therefore, that at present, there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning-styles assessments into general educational practice. Thus, limited education resources would better be devoted to adopting other educational practices that have a strong evidence base, of which there are an increasing number. However, given the lack of methodologically sound studies of learning styles, it would be an error to conclude that all possible versions of learning styles have been tested and found wanting; many have simply not been tested at all.

References:

• Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., Bjork, R. (2009). Learning Styles Concepts and Evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9, 105. ARTICLE.