The idea of learning styles is so seductive because we all have intuitions or preferences regarding how we learn best. And it seems so straightforward that a learner with a visual learning style would learn best from a more visual presentation compared to a person with a kinesthetic style who would benefit from a more hands-on experience. As logical as it seems, we simply don’t have evidence to support it.

Let’s invest resources on instructional modes and methods proven to improve learning. For example, as I summarized in a previous post, studies have shown that adding a relevant visual to a textual explanation dramatically improves learning in novices. Learners familiar with the topic don’t benefit as much because they can formulate their own visuals as they read the words. Furthermore, if you have a complex visual such as an animation, learning is better when the animation is explained with audio rather than text. An audio explanation allows the learner to allocate all of their visual attention to the graphic while listening to the explanation.