Link: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.174.2544&rep=rep1&type=pdf

“As every teacher discovers, no two students approach learning in exactly the same way.”

LS definition: “Keefe formally defines learning styles as “characteristic cognitive, affective, and psychological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment.””

“Awareness of learning style differences can help instructors teach in a manner that effectively reaches most students rather than putting a large
subset of them at a disadvantage.”

A LS model is incomplete but potentially useful.

Since 1970s, LS has been a guide to individualization of learning.

Meshing Hypothesis (Pasher et al, 2009) its a fact: matching student LS with instruction leads to greater learning but “Every two years or so, some academic psychologists conduct a literature review and conclude that no research supports the use of learning styles in teaching, and journal reviewers and editors treat this conclusion as a new revelation that once and for all debunks learning styles.”

This paper continues to focus in the four dimensions of this Felder LS model.

“The point is not to match teaching style to learning style but rather to achieve balance, making sure that each style
preference is addressed to a reasonable extent during instruction”

In this paper Felder gives hints to incorporate LS in teaching:

• Don’t just lecture—provide opportunities in class for both practice in course-taught methods (for the active learners) and reflection on the outcomes (for the reflective learners);
• Teach basic principles and theories (which intuitive learners are comfortable with), but only in the context of their real-world applications and with numerous examples of how to apply them (without which many sensors may have difficulty grasping the underlying concepts).
• Provide information both visually (pictures, diagrams, flow charts, concept maps, demonstrations,…) and verbally (written and spoken explanations) rather than making almost everything verbal (as is usually done except in art and architecture courses).
• Teach new course material in a logical and systematic way (which thinkers and sequential learners need),but be sure to show how it connects to the students’ prior knowledge and experience and to problems of global and social importance (for feelers and global learners);

Finally, a realistic perspective on th LS subject:

1. “Learning styles are not either-or categories”;
2. “It does not follow, however, that matching instruction to fit students’ learning styles is the optimal way to teach.”
3. “The optimal teaching style strikes a balance (not necessarily an equal one) between the poles of each dimension of the chosen learning styles model.”
4. “Acquainting students with their learning styles can enhance their awareness of some of their natural learning strengths”