The Biggest Myth In Education

- This video is about learning styles. What learner are you? - yeah, I'm a visual person so I have to see things, yeah. - yeah, same. - I think visual learner. - Visual. - , like, I remember formulas like auditory. - I need to be like, interacting with the material. - I like to learn by doing it myself. - Very hands-on. - Hands-on learner. - Hands-on? - So like, if I have a model, I'd like to look at that

- Very hands-on. - Hands-on learner. - Hands-on? - So like, if I have a model, I'd like to look at that and look it over. - Part of this video was sponsored by Google Search. There is this idea in education that everyone has their own preferred way of learning, their so-called learning style. If information is presented in accordance with the learning style, well, then they'll learn better.

If information is presented in accordance with the learning style, well, then they'll learn better. Now, there are dozens of different learning style theories, but the most common one identifies four main learning styles, visual, auditory, reading-writing, and kinesthetic or VARK for short. Visual learners learn best from images,

Visual learners learn best from images, demonstrations, and pictures. - People may say things, but I can't really take it in. I just gotta see 'em act it out or write it or something. - [Derek] Auditory learners learn best from listening to an explanation. - Like in school, I was always engaged in the lecture and that was usually good enough to pass a test.

and that was usually good enough to pass a test. - [Derek] Reading-writing learners learn best from reading and writing. - Like I can get pretty much anything out of reading a textbook or something. - [Derek] And kinesthetic learners learn best by doing. Physically interacting with the world. - Hands-on. You have to touch things, you have to play with things, , it's a contact sport.

You have to touch things, you have to play with things, , it's a contact sport. You have to do it yourself. - I want to try something with you, a little experiment. I want to show you 10 pictures of things and I don't want you to say anything while you're looking at them, and at the end of the 10 you tell me how many you can remember. - Okay. - Okay? - Okay. - Okay.

you tell me how many you can remember. - Okay. - Okay? - Okay. - Okay. - Now, learning styles make intuitive sense because we know everyone is different. Some people have better spacial reasoning. Others have better listening comprehension. We know some people are better readers while others are good with their hands.

We know some people are better readers while others are good with their hands. - It's very much fits with a broad strain of thought in the recent Western tradition is, we're all unique, we're all different. And so you don't want to say, like, everybody learns the same way. That conflicts with our feelings

everybody learns the same way. That conflicts with our feelings about what it means to be human. - So doesn't it make sense that people should learn better in their own preferred learning style? Well, teachers certainly seem to think so. A survey of nearly 400 teachers from the UK and the Netherlands found that over 90% believed

and the Netherlands found that over 90% believed that individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style. - [Instructor] Just like every professor has a different style of teaching, you have a different style of learning. - [Instructor] But when his teacher starts using visuals, Johnathan finds it easier to focus and understand the material so he might be a visual learner.

and understand the material so he might be a visual learner. - [Derek] Can you tell me what that means to you? Like, what does it mean to be a visual learner? - To me it means that for me to learn something sometimes you need to draw it or I need to write it down or I need to see a picture or a movie. - For example, science classes, I get bored easily

- For example, science classes, I get bored easily just listening and I think it's more interesting for me to be able to do it. - [Derek] How do that you're a visual learner? - I don't, I just assumed. - To take advantage of learning styles then teachers need to do two things. First, identify the learning style

then teachers need to do two things. First, identify the learning style of each of their students. And second, teach each student in accordance with their learning style. On the VARK website it says, once about VARK, its power to explain things will be a revelation. But before you take an online learning styles quiz,

But before you take an online learning styles quiz, it's a good idea to ask, do learning styles even exist? , do you have one? And if you're taught in accordance with it, would you learn better? (warm instrumental music) Well, you could test this by running a randomized control trial where first you would identify learners with at least two different learning styles,

where first you would identify learners with at least two different learning styles, say visual and auditory and then randomly assign learners to one of two educational presentations, one visual, one auditory. So for half of the students the experience will match their learning style and for the other half it won't.

the experience will match their learning style and for the other half it won't. And then you give everyone the same test. If the learning style hypothesis is correct, the results should show better performance when the presentation matches the learning style than when they're mismatched. I tried a very unscientific version

I tried a very unscientific version of this experiment on the street. For some people, I matched their learning style so I showed visual learners pictures of 10 items, but for other visual learners I read out the items instead. Bell penguin sun.

Bell penguin sun. - Okay, I'm maxed out. - [Derek] How many can you remember? - I don't know. - Hair, knife, duck, heart, butterfly. - Apple, bicycle, guitar. - There was a spider. Did I say eye already?