I have been as guilty as any of proposing and spreading the learning styles myth. Both early in my career as an english teacher to adults and as I moved into communication training to corporates.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it felt good, seemed intuitively true and helped me get a grasp on the world. I thought I was doing a good thing and was proud of my knowledge.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this, as I become more and more involved with neuroscience, slowly faded – it gradually became clear that this truly was a myth. A surprisingly quick search will find many pages that soundly and scientifically debunk the learning styles myth.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the good news is the myth amongst teachers seems to be dropping; in a 2012 study 93% believed the myth – a more recent study published in 2017 showed 76% of teachers believing in it.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom however, that still leaves three quarters of teachers still believing a myth that has been resoundingly debunked for nigh on two decades. The good news in higher education, at least, is that in 2017 only 54% believed the myth according to another study.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom we are moving in the right direction, but it obviously still needs to be dispelled with a majority of educators.

The myth is so pervasive because it feels intuitively right, it feels good, it feels like we are respecting and valuing individual differences, and it feels like we are being effective as teachers.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom there are also multiple models that are pumping out literature, video, courses, and motivational messages and this combined with the intuitive feel for it keeps a self-feeding cycle in place.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom more surprising is that a 2015 review of academic papers that refer to learning styles, shows that 94% start out with a positive review of learning styles.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this means that even a teacher that is reviewing academic literature on the topic of learning styles is likely to come across more positivity than negativity despite a profound lack of evidence learning styles do any good.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

It all began in the 1970s and 1980’s – this was the beginning of the human potential movement and of increased awareness of success and personality including gardner proposing the concept of multiple intelligences which immediately became wildly popular.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom kolb’s learning styles model was one of the first proposed, as part of his work on experiential learning, and become a common part of teacher training.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom kolb categorizes a processing aspect, thinking/feeling and a perception aspect, watching/doing. The model has, to give it credit, been refined over the years.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom one of the biggest problems is that measurement of thinking and feeling is considered a sliding scale – if you are a “feeler” you are not a “thinker”.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this contrasts with some of our work and research into personality where we have noticed that high performers (including in educational contexts) have high intuition i.E.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom gut feeling, and high cognition i.E. Thinking. Thinking and feeling are two abilities we have and these may both be high, both be low, or any other variation of this.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this hence applies to any of the many models that see thinking and feeling as mutually exclusive.

Other learning style models have also been proposed especially VAK or VARK model which refers to modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this was also popularized with the advent of NLP particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. The VAK model states that we have preferred method of input visual, auditory or kinesthetic.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this may intuitively feel good: “I like things when they are presented visually hence I am a visual leaner”. But, critically, it makes no sense – the brain is designed to operate with all senses in unison and integration.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom research shows that we are all visual learners, irrespective of what we report. Research also shows that reported preference of learning styles has no correlation to learning.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

In the meantime, there have been many others proposed, often backed by lucrative programs, workshops, material and sometimes modest scientific data.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom some draw on what were current popular theories or were current developments in research and include cognitive styles and, for example, what had been recent research into neuroscience (which we at leading brains know a thing or two about).Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the fault is these are often based on preliminary research and assumptions but lack rigorous scientific evidence. As research progresses we only then see limitations of initial assumptions and research results.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom marketeers often jump on any research if there is a potential to package this and market it effectively. This is more often than not debunked or moderated by later research.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Coffield et al selected, the 13 most promising styles from an initial selection of 71 possible theories. From these they only saw five with limited use.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom indeed, the biggest use seems to be in raising awareness and hence increasing student’s metacognition rather than in being effective methods of increasing learning impact.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom in fact, some research has pointed that learning styles may make us feel more comfortable but that more learning occurred in the non-preferred mode.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this comes down to what is known as learning friction i.E. Discomfort increases learning because of the extra effort required which activates more cognitive resources.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom so, ironically, the best way to stimulate learning may be by not teaching to preferred learning styles.

There is also a down side to styles. They may raise awareness, but they also may lead us to discard other methods.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom i.E. “I am a visual leaner so can’t or won’t learn through auditory methods”. They not only raise awareness but give permission to go the easy route or even ignore learning in other styles “I am a visual learner, so won’t learn with auditory input”.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom similarly, making learning fun and simple means that we can no longer engage with more complex learning processes. This may sound counter-intuitive but for true learning and effective learning to happen we need to engage the brain at intense levels – just not all the time (for recovery to happen as we have mentioned in previous blogs).Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Leaning styles hence could be making us less willing to engage in the difficult stuff which is not a good lesson for life. Obviously, we do want learning and teaching to be fun and engaging but not everything in the real world is like this – more importantly, it is not how nature and biology works.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom for example, in kolb’s experiential vs. Reflective it may mean focusing on experiential learning at the expense of reflective learning – reflective learning and cognitive processes such as abstraction are, however, critical abilities and ones that we certainly would wish to approach.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom to build abstract and reflective thinking we need to practice it.

This is also illustrated in a learning style few consider – namely that of owls and larks.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom those who are early risers, larks, are more active in the morning and can and want to learn earlier. Similarly, owls are more active later in the day and will engage better at later times (you may want to look at sarah-jayne blackmore’s research on teenage brains and sleep).Cognitive learning theory in the classroom but what is surprising is that owls and larks are both more creative outside their preferred times – precisely because they’re outside their preferred times!Cognitive learning theory in the classroom metacognition is king!

As we mentioned, we have measured high performers, such as award-winning teachers, and have noticed, in our preliminary research, a combination of high intuition and high cognition going against a cognitive styles model.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this has also appeared in other traits such as risk and safety. Traits often combine; and learning to use them in more effective ways seems to contribute more to driving success.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom therefore, the ability of metacognition, being able to reflect on thinking and learning, can be more effective than anything else. Indeed, focus on metacognition, has been shown to improve learning outcomes.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom similarly, as we noted in our last blog post, teaching neuroplasticity has been shown to be effective. So, learning styles are out but learning about learning is in!Cognitive learning theory in the classroom differentiating between studying and learning is also important: studying is about the process and learning is about the deeper mechanism of how the brain forms connections and memories and relationships to content.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Learning styles, though feeling intuitively good, are soundly wrong. In fact, they may be dangerous and decrease learning outcomes. Using multiple methods to transport content is simple good practice in teaching additionally, engaging students in metacognition, thinking about thinking and learning, and teaching neuroplasticity have been shown to improve learning outcomes.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom A final thought is that many classic dichotomies such as thinking vs. Feeling may be fundamentally wrong and we should be trying to improve both.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom ignoring one may lead to lack of development of critical life skills. How will this help in teaching