Nancy's Note (September 2026)

I've just updated a 2019 blog post I wrote about the persistent and problematic myth of learning styles, or the idea that we all have a particular "learning style" (e.g., "I'm a visual learner") and learn best when we're taught accordingly.  Researchers have spent decades looking for evidence that this works, but the result is remarkably consistent: it doesn't. 

So why revisit the post now? 

Because simply debunking a myth doesn’t give students—or faculty—much to replace it with. More recent research has helped us understand why the learning styles myth is so sticky, how we might help students reconsider it, and what we can offer instead.  

So I’ve updated the original post to spend less time simply saying “We need to stop believing in learning styles” and more time on “What we can do instead.”  That means acknowledging that students have learning preferences while also helping them distinguish those preferences from the strategies that actually support their learning. And it means shifting the conversation from “What kind of learner am I?” to “What can I do to learn this effectively?”

The revised post includes some ideas for having that conversation with students, along with research and ready-to-use resources on effective learning strategies that you can share directly with them.