Debunking the Matching Hypothesis of Learning Style Theorists in Hospitality Education

Abstract

This study tested the key assumption of the matching hypothesis proposed by learning style theorists. In this study we found no statistically significant preference among hospitality management students taking an introductory course for certain teaching strategies over others based on their supposed learning style. Students tended to prefer and not prefer the same teaching strategies regardless of style. These study findings call into question the common notion that teachers should try to match instructional strategies to the learning style of students. According to the results, hospitality educators might find more success using the top 5 preferred teaching strategies as ranked by the students (e.g., movies/films/videos, hands-on learning) and limiting the use of the 5 least preferred teaching strategies (e.g., group projects, audiotapes, substantive/lengthy lectures).

Keywords:

• behavioral styles
• cognitive styles
• learning styles
• matching hypothesis
• mind styles