The Story

Visual learners claim to be people who learn more effectively through pictures, charts, graphs, and videos. Auditory learners claim to be people who learn more effectively through lectures, audio books, and podcasts. Kinesthetic learners claim to be people who learn more effectively through moving around, working with their hands, or acting things out. The truth is, while people may have a preference for how they learn, learning things with their preferred method of learning does not help them learn more effectively than other methods of learning. This means that everyone is an audio-visual-kinesthetic learner because we can all learn new things from all of these different sources.

The Research

There is overwhelming research evidence showing that when instructors adjust their teaching to account for learners’ preferred learning styles, it does not impact learning. This means that there is no such thing as a visual learner. While some people might have a preference to learn visually, anyone* can learn visually, just like anyone* can learn auditorily or kinesthetically. In fact, if you learn about the same thing from many different sources explained in different ways, you will learn more than if you are only exposed to one single explanation or source.

*some learners may have disabilities that impede learning in certain modes (blindness impairs visual learning, deafness impairs auditory learning), in which case learners can focus on other modes of learning

The Source

Kirschner, P. A. (2017). Stop propagating the learning styles myth. Computers & Education, 106, 166-171.

You may also review the additional resources below to learn more about why learning styles are a myth.

Blog articles:

• Cuevas, J. A. (2016, July 11). Is research-based instruction a reality in education? The example of learning styles and dual coding. Psych Learning Curve. http://psychlearningcurve.org/learning-styles/ 
• Harvard, B. (2017, July 17). Learning myths vs. learning facts. Psych Learning Curve. http://psychlearningcurve.org/learning-myths-vs-learning-facts/ 
• Nadine. (2020, July 11). You’re not a visual learner: learning styles don’t exist. Illumination. https://medium.com/illumination/youre-not-a-visual-learner-learning-styles-don-t-exist-3219ec3203e2 
• Ofgang, E. (2022, March 4). Busting the myth of learning styles. Tech & Learning. https://www.techlearning.com/news/busting-the-myth-of-learning-styles 

YouTube video:

• Veritasium. (2021, July 9). The biggest myth in education [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/rhgwIhB58PA

Journal articles:

• Cuevas, J. A. (2016). An analysis of current evidence supporting two alternate learning models: Learning styles and dual coding. Journal of Educational Sciences & Psychology, 6(1). 1-13. http://jesp.upg-ploiesti.ro/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=24:journal-vol-vi-lxviii-no-12016&Itemid=16
• Dinsmore, D. L., Fryer, L. K., & Parkinson, M. M. (2022). The learning styles hypothesis is false, but there are patterns of student characteristics that are useful. Theory Into Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2022.2107333
• Furey, W. (2020). The stubborn myth of “Learning Styles” – State teacher-license prep materials peddle a debunked theory. Education Next, 20(3), 8-12. https://www.educationnext.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ednext_XX_3_furey.pdf
• Husmann, P. R., & O’Loughlin, V. D. (2018). Another nail in the coffin for learning styles? Disparities among undergraduate anatomy students’ study strategies, class performance, and reported VARK learning styles. Anatomical Sciences Education, 12(1), 6-19. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.1777
• Krätzig, G. P., & Arbuthnott, K. D. (2006). Perceptual learning style and learning proficiency: A test of the hypothesis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 238–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.98.1.238
• Nancekivell, S. E., Shah, P., & German, S. A. (2020). Maybe they’re born with it, or maybe it’s experience: Toward a deeper understanding of the learning style myth. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(2), 221–235. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/edu-edu0000366.pdf 
• Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105–119. Https://doi.org/0.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x
• Riener, C., & Willingham, D. (2010). The myth of learning styles. Change: The magazine of higher learning, 42(5), 32–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2010.503139
• Rohrer, D., and Pashler, H. (2012). Learning styles: where’s the evidence? Medical Education, 46, 634–635. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2012.04273.x
• Willingham, D. T., Hughes, E. M., and Dobolyi, D. G. (2015). The scientific status of learning styles theories. Teaching Psychology, 42, 266–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628315589505