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This is interesting and I think brings up a much bigger point than dwelling on the specifics of whether Learning Style Theory is real or not. It brings up, instead the fact that we have a fairly simplistic notion of what learning really is or how it works. The brain is still a series of black boxes and we have been very good at trying to characterize them, but still do not even know what aspects of these modules we don't understand, so we study what goes in and what comes out and make do.

Another problem is that there is a tendency to be simplistic about how to apply any knowledge we have gained to learning practice. The theorists put studies out there, then the practitioners come up with their own ideas as to how they can apply to practice, hence playing Mozart in the hallways to improve intelligence. A similar problem exists with the senses and how they connect to memory and how ideas interconnect to result in judgement and intelligence (whatever that is). 

Clearly the tail is wagging the dog and has been since we first thought about thought. What is needed is a kind of "middleware" or research whose specific task is to take the research, translate it into broader practice and assess its validity in a variety of field conditions. Then take the valid ideas and disseminate, and toss the chimerae into the trash. This weeding process (longitudinal research)  is direly needed and has been an impediment to having lots of sound research either be misapplied or not applied to practice at all. Of course all this takes is money for "middleware projects" (likely more than for research and lots of will [and maybe crack open a whopping can of postdoc and grad students on the problem too]}. We love simplistic solutions that don't cost a lot. But that is not how the brain works. It is a dark and messy place and we need to be prepared for messy and complicated solutions. We also love to be simplistic about dismissing theories that are ambiguous or we have problems with. Rather than just dismissing or disproving multiple intelligences, perhaps we should be developing ways to see what really happens between the senses, memory, emotion, and the way these memories really interconnect and are processed. I know we have a long way to go, but we have always known that the wild frontier of science in the 21st century was going to the human brain and the living cell so here we are looking at bakers yeast and the brains of golden nematodes and being very impressed. Hey, its a start. 

Stephen Miles Uzzo, PhD.
VP, Science & Technology
New York Hall of Science
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On Aug 29, 2011, at 11:37 AM, Charles Carlson wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> There's a really interesting news story on NPR this morning, and it certainly caught my attention.  The research papers themselves are certainly worth a read (see last link)
> 
> http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/08/29/139973743/think-youre-an-auditory-or-visual-learner-scientists-say-its-unlikely
> 
> which traces it's origins to here: 
> 
> http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/learning-styles-debunked-there-is-no-evidence-supporting-auditory-and-visual-learning-psychologists-say.html
> 
> which one of the researchers has kindly posted here:
> 
> http://uweb.cas.usf.edu/~drohrer/pubs.htm  
> 
> Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2009). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9, 105-119. PDF  
> 
> It always useful to remember that peer-reviewed doesn't mean right, it means conforming to agreed upon scientific practices and reflecting the best scholarly research.
> 
> Enjoy,
> C
> 
> The opinions and thoughts expressed here are my own and should in no way be construed or attributed to the Exploratorium or related organization, and do not represent an institutional position.
> Charles Carlson
> Senior Scientist
> exploratorium
> 3601 Lyon St.
> San Francisco, CA 94123
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> Tel:   415-561-0319
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> http://blogs.exploratorium.edu/whyintercept/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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