I know that I have always liked to learn by doing and seeing. It comes back to the constructivist and constructionist theory, in my mind, experiencing first hand is going to help me create new schema to the topic and truly understand the material. Does this mean I learn best from this style, no, it just means that I am more engaged with the material/content and therefore am learning. However, I do not fully buy into learning styles. While I like one method, it does not mean that I am not able to learn from the other styles or that is it preferable (Kirschner, 2017). This program for instance does not cater to the kinesthetic learner, but I am still successful because I know that I can relate the readings to experiences in my live and construct new schemas without having first hand experience. Like Kirschner (2017) and Newton (2015) found, having a student think they learn best in one method may prevent them from learning from all styles, because they feel they can only learn in one way. I find when I complete any sort of inventory, I can manipulate my answers to match what I think the result should be. For example, on the VARK I was able to select the answers dealing with doing and seeing to suggest I am a visual kinesthetic learner. However, I am very able to learn in an auditory and written fashion.
What does this mean when designing instruction? Kirschner (2017) and Newton (2015) suggest that it is more important to design based on the learners’ cognitive abilities rather than how they perceive they learn best. This is because self-reporting is not reliant and trying to learn continuously from one style can be detrimental to one’s ability to learn. Therefore, it is important to design good sound instruction rather than trying to match instruction to a preferred learning style (Kirschner, 2017; Newton, 2015). Creating instruction that incorporates all the “learning styles” will result in better learning (Newton, 2015).
References
Kirschner, P. A. (2017). Stop propagating the learning styles myth. Computers and Education, 106, 166-171.
Newton, P. M. (2015). The Learning Styles Myth is Thriving in Higher Education. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1-5.
Thoughts on Instructional Design 