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Thanks for highlighting this, it's an interesting read.
Going to the original article, it seems they're mostly saying there hasn't been a statistically relevant study of the effect, and thus unsubstantiated it's a waste of resources. The news reports make it sound disproved, whereas the report itself sounds more like not proven; a subtle but definite distinction.
http://uweb.cas.usf.edu/~drohrer/pdfs/Pashler_et_al_2009PSPI.pdf
"We concluded that any credible validation of learning-styles-based instruction requires robust documentation of a very particular type of experimental finding with several necessary criteria."
"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."
"These studies, which we believe are methodologically strong, provide no support for the learning-styles hypothesis (or its popular specific version, the meshing hypothesis). As mentioned previously, however, it would clearly be a mistake to label these negative results as a conclusive refutation of the learning-styles
hypothesis in general. ... [A]t present, these negative results, in conjunction with the virtual absence of
positive findings, lead us to conclude that any application of learning styles in classrooms is unwarranted."
"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."
Luke Donev
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-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Charles Carlson
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2011 11:38 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The Unlikeliness of Auditory or Visual Learners
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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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
Fax: 415-561-0370
http://blogs.exploratorium.edu/whyintercept/
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