Learning preferences in education is the popular idea that every student has their own ideal method for dealing with information. These methods that are specific to each student help them complete and understand the material placed in front of them faster and better.
Learning preferences are heavily pushed in the education sector so teachers would be aware that not all methods of teaching might relate to every student. The idea is that students’ learning preferences are specific to them and help them complete and understand the information that is presented to them in a more comfortable way.
This theory presumes that because every student has their own individual way of learning, lesson plans should attempt to cater to every style of learning, and tests should be created to assess these differences in an effort to guide educators in teaching and students in learning. There are 2 main models that famously deal with learning preferences, the VARK Model and Kolb’s Model.
The VARK Model
VARK stands for Visual, Auditory (Aural), Reading/Written, and Kinesthetic. Its most popular format was created by Neil Fleming in 1995, and it outlines 4 different types of learning preferences. Visual learning refers to those students who prefer learning through images and visual tools such as videos, charts, graphics, etc. Auditory learning refers to students who prefer learning through listening activities like lectures or recordings.
Reading/written learning refers to students who prefer reading or writing about the material they are studying through textbooks or notes. Finally, kinesthetic learning refers to students who prefer learning by doing activities such as completing worksheets, quizzes, games, etc. The VARK model is very popular in education today. A lot of teachers get their students to take tests that are available online to determine which style of learning they have.
While the VARK Model is very popular in modern education, it has never been proven that modifying lesson plans to fit the individual learning preferences of each child in a class yields better test scores.
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Kolb’s Model
Another, perhaps slightly more credible learning preference model is Kolb’s Model. Created by David Kolb in 1976, he argued that learning preferences are a result of past learning experiences combined with innate cognitive preferences, or processing and perception. He explained processing as how students approach a task, and perception as to how they think or feel about what they are going to learn.
Kolb’s model identifies four different learning types: Assimilating, Converging, Accommodating, Diverging. Each type is determined based on a preference for learning by thinking, watching, feeling (emotion toward what they are learning), and doing (tasks and activities such as worksheets or homework).
Accommodating learners refer to those who describe learning by feeling and doing and according to Kolb, is the most popular type of learning type. Assimilating learners refer to those who describe learning by thinking and watching, preferring the more traditional methods of teaching such as lectures and reading.
Converging learners refer to those who describe learning by thinking and doing, preferring to work independently and undisturbed, and are described as professionals with a strong work ethic. Finally, divergent learners refer to those who describe learning by feeling and watching, describing the more creative students who like activities and working with their peers.
Issues
While these theories sound progressive and reasonable, studies show that there is no significant difference in academic achievement when students are taught according to their ideal learning preference. Studies have found numerous issues with these theories (VARK being more problematic than Kolb’s Model) and have shown that both theories consistently fail to pass reliability and validity tests.
Even though learning preferences as a theory don’t have much merit in the field of educational psychology, somehow it keeps getting taught in education. Teachers and professors are often told to accommodate their lesson plans according to the VARK model for example. The VARK model is still being used in universities and educational conferences.
It is very popular despite being “disproved” multiple times due to its simplicity and initial impact on education. Even though it seemed revolutionary at the time, now that we know better shouldn’t we stop using it?
Daniel Willingham
Perhaps the individual who has fought to learn preference theories the hardest is Daniel Willingham. Willingham is a psychologist and professor at the University of Virginia researching K-12 education. He claims (and his research backs him up) that there is no evidence that supports learning preferences and that they do not exist but are just one of the many new trends in childcare and education.
Willingham acknowledges that people and students are different from one another, and teachers should be aware of certain differences that may affect their academic performance. These differences include things such as talent, intelligence, interest, background knowledge, or disabilities, however, he claims that when it comes to learning preferences, they are simply different “styles” of learning that certain students enjoy more and do not affect overall performance.
Whether the student gets to learn in their preferred “style” or not, it will not affect their overall academic performance. Basically, learning preferences only outline the different styles of learning that students may use, but no matter which one they use, it won’t affect their test scores.
Willingham argues that there is too much emphasis being placed on learning preferences, draining educational resources to focus on the “correct” way of learning when in reality, no such thing exists. While learning preferences sound like a good idea that is attentive to the individual differences of students, there is very poor overall evidence to support the theories within it and is often focused on too heavily in the realms of education.
It is a good thing to pay attention to individual differences to ensure everyone has a fair shot at success, but using outdated theories that have been shown to not have merit, is not the way to do that. Instead of focusing on serious and relevant issues within education, educators place too much focus on these outdated and unsupported models for learning, not actually helping students reach their full potential.
