Is there a role for learning styles in personalised education and training?

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the theoretical bases of leading models of learning styles and empirical evidence of their impact on achievement and motivation in post‐16 education and training. We describe the review process, the development of an organizing framework to understand the field, presented in a continuum of families of learning styles, and a summary of our assessments of 13 influential models of learning styles. We conclude with a discussion of the place of learning styles within new frameworks for understanding thinking and learning.

Notes

David Moseley has recently retired as Reader in Applied Psychology. He remains an expert in thinking skills, basic skills pedagogy and learning styles and a contributor to the Centre’s projects.

Elaine Hall is a Research Associate in the Centre for Learning and Teaching. Her work focuses on professional understanding and the interactions of role and autonomy with the processes of family and community learning. She can be contacted at Elaine. [email protected]

Elaine Hall is a Research Associate in the Centre for Learning and Teaching. Her work focuses on professional understanding and the interactions of role and autonomy with the processes of family and community learning. She can be contacted at Elaine. [email protected]

Detailed evaluations of the 13 learning styles can be found in Coffield et al. (2004a,b) and also available on the Learning and Skills Research Centre web site (http://www.lsrc.org.uk/). This project was one of several commissioned in parallel to explore current understandings of thinking and learning, including an evaluation of different models of thinking skills (Universities of Newcastle and Sunderland), an evaluation of the impact of thinking skills on pedagogy (University of Strathclyde), the extent and impact of mixed age learning in further education (Universities of Surrey and Sheffield) and a mapping of the conceptual terrain in relation to informal learning (University of Leeds).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

ELAINE HALL

David Moseley has recently retired as Reader in Applied Psychology. He remains an expert in thinking skills, basic skills pedagogy and learning styles and a contributor to the Centre’s projects. Elaine Hall is a Research Associate in the Centre for Learning and Teaching. Her work focuses on professional understanding and the interactions of role and autonomy with the processes of family and community learning. She can be contacted at Elaine. [email protected]