When a myth becomes a legend.
Like, many others, I love this prose.
I like the tone, the sense of pathos, the sense of learning something too late - or perhaps in the nick of time. I like the imagery of it all. The prose is inscribed on the tomb of an unnamed Anglican Bishop buried in Westminster Abbey and dates to around 1100 A.D.
When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older, and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country.
But it, too, seemed immovable.
As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.
And now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family.
From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world.
What a pity it isn’t true.
No such tomb exists.
This will no doubt come as a surprise to many - the legend of the prose features heavily on poetry and self help sites across the Internet, is featured in books such as “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and is regularly emailed around the globe. However, as appealing and entrenched as belief in the poem is, the fact that many people believe something doesn’t make it true. The legend is a myth.
Education is not immune from widely held and deeply cherished ideas that are also based on belief rather than fact. One of these is the notion of “learning styles”.
Consider the following from Professor Daniel Willingham, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia.
For some this challenge to the notion of learning styles is akin to heresy. And perhaps heresy is exactly what is since - heresy is the term usually used to describe those who oppose the teachings of a church. I don’t wish to get into the field of religion here - but religion is based upon faith - not logic. Religion neither relies upon nor requires logic. But education should.
For those who might require further convincing I recommend reading this.
How did this unsupported belief become so wide spread? Possibly because it appears to work. Certainly teachers who subscribe to the belief and accommodate it in their practice appear to reap the benefits. However, with a moments thought we can see why - catering for “different learning styles” means providing variety, it means designing lessons that are more than “chalk and talk” or lecture style, or worksheet based instruction. It may mean that material is presented from more than one perspective - which of course takes time - and we know that time on task is associated with learning. In short, it means putting effort into pedagogy - it results in improved teaching. So, the misguided belief in learning styles actually produces better teaching, which leads to engagement - which leads to concentration - which leads to learning.
Thus, this flawed theory leads to improved teaching. So, if this is the result, what’s the problem?
The belief in “learning styles” has no more scientific support than the study of phrenology once claimed, or the notion that ability is fixed (as in the belief of a static I.Q.). Surely our professionalism should dictate that we only advocate those practices that can be supported with evidence? After all, it is evidence that separates informed practice from mere opinion or entrenched habit. It is evidence based practice that will enable us to improve our instructional techniques.
If we, as a profession, begin to insist on evidence based practice in this matter we may start questioning other aspects of our practice - the notion of assessment techniques could bear close scrutiny for example, or how computers can be used to teach effectively, or the benefits of delaying the introduction of algorithms until at least grade 4, or the benefits of Project Based Learning, or the benefits of a “growth mindset” approach... the list is endless. Evidence based practice can lead to innovation and improved education.
If we are to improve education we need to ensure that we as educators know why we do what we do - and can demonstrate that it is more effective than other approaches. If there is a truth in the “learning style” myth it is that teaching style matters.
And that is something we can all learn from...
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Credits:
All links go to external sources.
Image:
(I stress this is NOT the tomb of an Anglican Bishop in Westminster Cathedral.)
ADDENDUM. A post on the same theme by Steve Wheeler can be accessed here.
