Don’t pick learning methods based on “I’m a visual learner, he’s an auditory learner”
Many people believe each person has a distinct learning style — such as being visual or auditory — and that teaching should be tailored to that style for best results. Yet there are very few rigorous studies on this, and almost none provide any support for it; several even show the opposite. While people do have personal preferences, there’s no evidence that instruction aligned with those preferences leads to better learning. There’s also no need to spend money on learning style assessments.
No cost at all. You simply stop using this classification…
A review commissioned to assess evidence on learning styles states: to show that "teaching by learning style"…
No cost at all. You simply stop using this classification to pick materials or courses, and you also avoid spending money on style assessments.
A review commissioned to assess evidence on learning styles states: to show that "teaching by learning style" works, students must first be grouped by style, then each group randomly assigned to different teaching methods. The same test must be used at the end. The criterion of success is a specific interaction: the method that works best for one style is not the best for another. The review's conclusion is that almost no such interaction was found. There is a large literature on learning styles, but very few studies use an adequate experimental design, and several of those go directly against the "matching hypothesis." The authors therefore hold that current evidence is not enough to put learning-style assessment into education practice.
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/10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x
Open source linkThe review also notes this doesn’t mean every version of learning style theory has been tested and disproven; many have never been examined at all. What you should definitely avoid is spending money on learning style assessments or selecting training programs based on such classifications. Criteria for picking training options are outlined in item 9 (prioritizing government-subsidized programs) and item 13 (favoring short-term programs that lead directly to employment).