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learning styles. The notion of learning styles holds tremendous popular appeal
for teachers, parents, companies that sell educational curriculum, and stu-
dents. The problem is that the existence of learning styles isn't supported by
scientiic research.
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In fact, some research indicates that students pay closer
attention, work harder, and do better in classes where teaching is outside their
preferred style of learning.
The notion that each of us has an optimal learning style has somehow
wormed its way into mainstream wisdom about the classroom and is now
irmly lodged in teaching strategy. Somewhat similar to belief in astrologi-
cal horoscopes, for a few decades now, teachers, parents, even students have
embraced the idea that everybody has their own unique style of learning. In
response, over the past few decades, scholars of educational and learning
theory have identiied and mapped more than 70 documented learning styles.
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The danger of tailoring curriculum to learning styles, however, is not so
much the lack of empirical evidence. The danger is that framing curriculum
this way is limiting and distracting. Trying to map new and challenging design
curriculum to chimerical learning styles dilutes teacher time and classroom
resources.
We should probably explain how researchers deine learning styles: The
term “learning styles” refers to the concept that individuals differ in regard
to what mode of instruction or study is most effective for them. People who
favor learning-style assessment contend that the best way for a person to learn
is to irst diagnose their individual learning style and tailor the lesson plans
accordingly, a process known as meshing.
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Typical learning style assessments ask people to evaluate what sort of infor-
mation presentation they prefer (for example, words versus pictures versus
speech). Another common question is what kind of mental activity a person
inds most engaging or congenial (for example, analysis versus listening). It's
tempting to assume that design and 3D printing will appeal to students who
have been deemed to have a “visual” or “tactile” learning style. The problem
is that this would leave out competent students who, if tested, would fall into
a different category.
If learning styles are dubious science, is there any theoretical basis to sup-
port the value of 3D printing and design tools in the K-12 classroom? Maybe.
People who have a irm mastery of a piece of knowledge or an abstract concept
can re-create a concept in a new medium. A more scholarly way to describe
the same knowledge depicted across different mediums is that it's presented
in “multiple representations.”
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