Teaching

Learning Styles: True or False

March 06, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Kent Fischer has one of the most provocative local education blogs, one he’s written as a reporter for The Dallas Morning News for about four years now. He focuses mostly on issues related to Dallas ISD, but writes about broader trends and concerns for K-12 schools as well.

One of Kent’s items has been making the rounds among education reporters this week, with a link to this video that questions the notion of “learning styles.” The focus on the idea that children all have different optimal ways learning has been revelatory for many educators. But the learning-styles model also has a significant corps of dissenters that deems it’s misguided, even destructive.

I’m not familiar with Daniel Willingham’s work, but the Web site for the University of Virginia psychology professor says he is focused on “applying cognitive psychology to K-12 education.” He writes the “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column for American Educator magazine. His views are pretty clear. What do you think?

Related Tags:

A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.

Events

Jobs Regional K-12 Virtual Career Fair: DMV
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Cardiac Emergency Response Plans: What Schools Need Now
Sudden cardiac arrest can happen at school. Learn why CERPs matter, what’srequired, and how districts can prepare to save lives.
Content provided by American Heart Association
Teaching Profession Webinar Effective Strategies to Lift and Sustain Teacher Morale: Lessons from Texas
Learn about the state of teacher morale in Texas and strategies that could lift educators' satisfaction there and around the country.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Opinion The Most Popular Instructional Strategies That Don't Work
Not every instructional approach is a winner. What to use and what to drop.
12 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Opinion Students Don't Think School Matches Their Life Goals. How Can We Fix That?
Disengagement is not solved by overstuffed standards, tests, and pacing guides.
Robert C. Pianta
5 min read
a geometrical floor with the North Star in the center that becomes a space of listening. The colors of the floor enforce this idea of the meeting of the needs of education and students.
Francesca Gastone for Education Week
Teaching Opinion An Iranian American Educator Speaks From a Broken Heart
The Iranian children will carry their fear, confusion, and loss of safety forever.
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Opinion Is Teaching an Art or a Science?
Educators weigh in on the perennial debate.
11 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week