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Free your mind.... regardless of your heel....
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-with-learning-styles/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-with-learning-styles/
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Learning styles (VAK) debunked ? or blasphemy ?
- Thread starter LouD-Truckee
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Maybe the full-on learning styles framework is oversold, but I am sure there is a nugget of truth to the auditory / visual divide. Read me a phone number and there is no way I can remember it. Show it to me on a piece of paper and I can.
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TS
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I believe they are Knowledge Acquisition Styles. In skiing I think we all learn the same way. By doing. By feeling.
But how do we get the movements to do that? Some from video or watching others, some from reading, some from just experimenting.
But how do we get the movements to do that? Some from video or watching others, some from reading, some from just experimenting.
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This is a great quote, thank you!
Like many quotes, that one is often attributed incorrectly... there are documented references at least back to 1882. See here :
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/04/14/theory/
I'm not convinced the study described in the article shows much except:
1. Some students are not good at using what may work best for them
"Despite knowing their own, self-reported learning preferences, nearly 70% of students failed to employ study techniques that supported those preferences."
2. Some students are better than others regardless of what learning styles they use
3. It's best to teach 'em in multiple ways.
And, of course, there's the replication crisis in the social sciences. Scientists Replicated 100 Psychology Studies, and Fewer Than Half Got the Same Results
1. Some students are not good at using what may work best for them
"Despite knowing their own, self-reported learning preferences, nearly 70% of students failed to employ study techniques that supported those preferences."
"Students whose study strategies aligned with their VARK scores performed no better in either the lecture or lab component of the course."
We still don't know if those students would have individually done worse if they'd used non-matching learning styles.
We still don't know if those students would have individually done worse if they'd used non-matching learning styles.
3. It's best to teach 'em in multiple ways.
"Students are more successful when they space out their study sessions over time, experience the material in multiple modalities, test themselves on the material as part of their study practices, and elaborate on material to make meaningful connections rather than engaging in activities that involve simple repetition of information (e.g., making flashcards or recopying notes)."
And, of course, there's the replication crisis in the social sciences. Scientists Replicated 100 Psychology Studies, and Fewer Than Half Got the Same Results
Thread Starter
TS
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Last edited:
Thread Starter
TS
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Yeah, arguing by googled links. Just chuck some stuff out and let the other party sort through for anything useful. Sort of the online equivalent of throwing books at each other.
At least I read the article you originally linked and picked some extracts.
Anyway, since your preferred posting style (based a sample of 2) is links without some contextual, highlighting quotes...
http://carolblack.org/science-fiction/
Thread Starter
TS
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nah.... between skiing every day, and reading.... no time left to argue with people on the internet.... besides.... to paraphrase George Bernard Shaw.... "never argue with people on the internet.... you just get all full of mud.... and the #$@& likes it"
If anything, it was more like a survey.... I'll put you down under "BLASPHEMY".....
Cheers mate.....
Seaking of blasphemy...singing about Yogi in a Braves jersey 
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And yet Shaw died in 1950. So, you're just tossing a world salad and dressing it with a quote?
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TS
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I don't know. Possibly if you used words strung together in a sentence, then bundled into a coherent paragraph I'd have a clue what your pov was.
Blasphemy may refer to the whole idea of learning styles is blasphemy to begin with. I suppose if I read the link I could figure it out, but as your too lazy to pull anything out of it, I can't get enthused to go follow it. And I did read the CarolBlack link posted later.
I'll put you down as tl;dr. Which is a little sad when it comes to your own ref material - those articles link to other articles and research that contain numerous references to how presenting information in multiple ways is beneficial to learning and retention.
I'd point 'em out however I'm kind of a fan of guided experiential learning.
Then again, probably better to just go skiing.
There's quite a bit in the standard PSIA instructional framework that smells too much of dubious pop psychology. I would conclude that the value of the PAK model is as a reminder that we ALL learn via multiple pathways, none of which should be disregarded. The article concluded:
"Fortunately, cognitive science has identified a number of methods to enhance knowledge acquisition, and these techniques have fairly universal benefit. Students are more successful when they space out their study sessions over time, experience the material in multiple modalities, test themselves on the material as part of their study practices, and elaborate on material to make meaningful connections rather than engaging in activities that involve simple repetition of information (e.g., making flashcards or recopying notes)."
Sounds challenging to implement in the space of a single three or six hour lesson, doesn't it? It's no wonder the ski instruction community is tempted into embracing simplistic, shortcut pedagogical theories. We all want to feel good about our work, even when the facts are at odds with that.
Some possible ways of incorporating those proven methods to enhance knowledge acquisition:
o Set more modest lesson goals so as to allow sufficient time for their application?
o Give students homework?
o Educate customers as to the benefits of multi-day clinics, and design them better, mixing in a changing multitude of effective techniques?
"Fortunately, cognitive science has identified a number of methods to enhance knowledge acquisition, and these techniques have fairly universal benefit. Students are more successful when they space out their study sessions over time, experience the material in multiple modalities, test themselves on the material as part of their study practices, and elaborate on material to make meaningful connections rather than engaging in activities that involve simple repetition of information (e.g., making flashcards or recopying notes)."
Sounds challenging to implement in the space of a single three or six hour lesson, doesn't it? It's no wonder the ski instruction community is tempted into embracing simplistic, shortcut pedagogical theories. We all want to feel good about our work, even when the facts are at odds with that.
Some possible ways of incorporating those proven methods to enhance knowledge acquisition:
o Set more modest lesson goals so as to allow sufficient time for their application?
o Give students homework?
o Educate customers as to the benefits of multi-day clinics, and design them better, mixing in a changing multitude of effective techniques?
As someone with a master of education, I can confirm that learning styles have been invalidated many times in research. Despite the folksy appeal of learning styles, no research of substance has confirmed their usefulness. If learning styles were real, we would see waves of skiers who learned by listening to an audio tape. Or people who learn to speak a foreign language at a practical level by reading a book. Or surgeons who learn to do brain surgery by just trying it out.
All mediums have their place. And some people do have a harder time with certain mediums; some individuals have a terrible mind-body connection, others zone out when they have to listen (or can't understand our language), some folks lack observational skills, and some folks are not really bright enough to reflect effectively. As instructors we have to work around these limitations by keeping explanations simple, giving good demos from many angles, creating external physical cues, using static exercises before active ones, and applying all those good coaching techniques from our body of knowledge.
All mediums have their place. And some people do have a harder time with certain mediums; some individuals have a terrible mind-body connection, others zone out when they have to listen (or can't understand our language), some folks lack observational skills, and some folks are not really bright enough to reflect effectively. As instructors we have to work around these limitations by keeping explanations simple, giving good demos from many angles, creating external physical cues, using static exercises before active ones, and applying all those good coaching techniques from our body of knowledge.