Learning Styles, Learning Preferences, and Student Choice: Implications for Teaching

Abstract

We consider the theory and evidence supporting learning styles, and contrast these with the related concepts of learning preferences and student choice. Although the theory of learning styles remains popular in the field of education as one guidepost teachers might use to maximize the effectiveness of instruction for individual students, including students with learning and behavioral disabilities, a review of the evidence supporting a learning styles approach suggests that it offers little benefit to students with disabilities. In contrasting learning styles with the related concept of learning preferences, we posit that interventions based on student choice may offer a more parsimonious and evidence-driven approach to enhancing instruction and improving outcomes for students with learning and behavioral disabilities.

Citation

Landrum, T.J. and Landrum, K.M. (2016), "Learning Styles, Learning Preferences, and Student Choice: Implications for Teaching", Instructional Practices with and without Empirical Validity (Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, Vol. 29), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 135-152. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0735-004X20160000029006