The learning styles paradox: Persistent appeal despite unsupported evidence

By Feifei Wang, The Centre for Information Technology in Education, The University of Hong Kong

A puzzling paradox exists in education: even though many studies show that aligning teaching methods to students’ preferred learning styles (e.g., visual or auditory) has little impact on learning achievement, learning styles persistently emerge in educational discourse and research. A recent review that synthesized evidence from 17 meta-analyses explored why learning styles repeatedly resurface and provided an explanation for their persistent appeal.

The review identified a critical distinction between two sets of meta-analyses: (1) matching meta-analyses, which tested if matching teaching methods with students’ learning styles improved learning outcomes, and (2) correlational studies, which examined the relationship between students’ learning styles and learning outcomes.

Results showed that the matching studies yielded a very small effect size (d = 0.04), providing evidence for the minimal benefit of aligning teaching methods with students’ learning styles. Moreover, while correlational meta-analyses looking at effects on student achievement produced an average correlation of r = 0.24, these correlations did not clarify causality or the direction of effects. In addition, across both sets of meta-analyses, the broad and inconsistent usage of learning styles blurred the line between learning styles and learning preferences or strategies.

The authors discussed that instead of simply relying on learning styles, effective teaching should focus on adaptable, evidence-based strategies that support learning. Students learn most effectively when they develop cognitive and metacognitive strategies suited to specific task demands, rather than relying on their preferred learning styles.