Learning styles & the importance of critical self-reflection | Tesia Marshik | TEDxUWLaCrosse

The belief in learning styles is so widespread, it is considered to be common sense. Few people ever challenge this belief, which has been deeply ingrained in our educational system. Teachers are routinely told that in order to be effective educators, they must identify & cater to individual students' learning styles; it is estimated that around 90% of students believe that they have a specific learning style but research suggests that learning styles don't actually exist! This presentation focuses on debunking this myth via research findings, explaining how/why the belief in learning styles is problematic, and examining the reasons why the belief persists despite the lack of evidence.

Dr. Tesia Marshik is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Her research interests in educational psychology include student motivation, self-regulation, and teacher-student relationships.

[ReflectionOcean]

1. Learning depends on the meanings we give the material 2. Learning style depends on the contents 3. Many subjects can be learned in a mix of learning styles

[malikasebou]

Your presentation reminds me of the Chinese proverb : Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me, make me do, and I undestand.involvement leads to understancing is the key to learning

[BobbyRay-]

Who else is watching this video for a college class?

[originalvonster]

7:00 chase and Simon 1973 (meaning)
10:30 incorporating more than one sensory experience makes it more meaningful
12:05 learning styles do not exist
12:45 confirmation bias

[teresajamison]

The idea that we learn what we need to learn by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, doing it, is stellar.

[missladydollette]

Going through a TEDx marathon right now watching different videos on learning she is one of the best TEDx talkers I've watched to so far. Personally I recommened watching Learning how to learn by Barbara Oakley but I would say that she is a overall great teacher. She is very straight forward and precise with her presentation as well as her use of the presentation slides. i've seen a lot of other TED talkers who are so bad at presenting their ideas where the slides has no absolute connection to what they're teaching but she is just so great at it.

[askjake]

This was an amazing TED talk. What surprises me is I've always gone out and searched for truths. I've always wanted to get proven wrong so that I can adjust my views to fit reality. I honestly thought for the longest that this was a normal human process of curiosity. That's because i grouped the people that think this way with the ones that don't. I've always told people that I learn best with all the learning styles. That it depended on what I'm learning. I've taught myself how to ride a bike, and how to play guitar and I've been learning to code recently I've been noticing that the way I'm learning certain things would vary but the one thing that stayed consistent was if I used all my senses, I always remembered it better. This makes sense because when I involved all my senses in what I was learning I become more invested meaning it meant more to me. I'm glad my psychology professor showed me this TED talk. It's opened my understanding of how I can maximize my learning.

[rebeccaramo]

She presents valid points and research to her point that everyone learns through a variety of their senses, and that the mode of learning depends on the content. However, contrary to her point, most people prefer a specific content which is tied to a specific sense. For example, music is auditory and it comes to some people more naturally. Some are able to detect melodies, harmonies, and finer details in music better than others--even without training. Other people prefer and excel at visual arts and have a "keen eye" for visual details. So, granted, we all listen to music through our "auditory" sense and we all create visual art with our "visual" sense, people still do have content preferences based on sensory strengths.

[studentfilolog]

"We are not as limited (by the learning styles) as we sometimes think we are!". This did it for me plus her reasons Why should this matter. Very good talk!

[iammylees]

A. ) Tesia Marshik used the study of "Chase and Simon" as her reference that learning styles or preferences do not enhance learning. Because we are learning through our experiences. She explained that we store information in terms of meaning and not connected to our sensory mode. And it is about how we use our senses, learning preferences, and learning styles to connect on our own experiences, and allow us to gain more experiences to have knowledge on it or understand things.



B. ) 3 ways on how we retain information or enhance our learning according to Tesia Marshik.
1. First, we store information in terms of meaning.
2. Second, the best way to learn something depends on the content itself.
3. Third, many things can be taught or learned using multiple senses.

[davidross]

This is one of the best Ted Talks I have seen. All these years, I believed in learning styles. She blew my mind with this information!

[misse]

The number of people in the comments saying that PhD professor doesn't understand the research (or lack thereof) behind "learning styles" is astounding.

[mayya.artist]

I understand her point, but in both ways whether I just (prefer) visual learning or
believed that my (style) of learning is visual, I still want my teacher to have some images or slides...
NOT only listening to her speaking,
and I still want to buy colorful book over a plain book that doesn't have any images !!

it doesn't matter if its a learning style or preference because the result is the same for me...
it makes me more comfortable and easier to learn.
+ I believe that teachers will have better results with their
students if they put in mind the 5 senses in general.

[manmohankathari]

VARK or the Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic model is not completely wrong!
Just that, as teachers we need to blend these ways to make best of the understanding possible for different concepts/topics.

[youssefelbhalla]

I'm agree with her, I'm French teacher, and l discover it every day, the learner's styles is very sophisticated, I must take account all 3 styles in same situation-problem

[maryhill]

A). Tesia Marshik used the 1973 study of "Chase and Simon" to demonstrate that learning styles or preferences do not enhance learning. We can learn through connecting our experiences or by using our experiences to gain knowledge, according to the study she explains, and most of what we learn is stored in terms of meaning. As an example, they compare the abilities of an expert and beginner chessboard player and find that the expert has a significant advantage in remembering the position shown in the first photo because they understand the game's meaning, strategy, and have experience playing chessboard, which makes it easier for them to remember the positions. However, those advantages are useless because the pieces of chess are randomly arranged shown in the second photo, making it difficult for them to remember the positions because the position is not meaningful. She explained that our sensory or learning preferences or styles are not enough for us to learn or gain knowledge. It's about how we use our senses, learning preferences, and learning styles to connect ourselves or our own experiences, or to allow others to experience things to better understand things.

B). Three ways on how we retain information or enhance our learning according to Tesia Marshik. First, we store information in terms of meaning. I've realized like she did, that we didn't understand a certain topic, term, or word by simply reading it, memorizing it, or reading it numerous times unless we understand its meaning and relate it to our own experiences or situations to comprehend/understand its context. It's somehow true that most of what we learn is stored in terms of meaning. Next, the best way to learn something depends on the content itself. Just, for example, we want to distinguish the differences in the smell of flowers we saw in the book. The best way for us to learn the differences of the flowers is by letting ourselves smell different flowers to understand their differences. It helps us to learn or understand things, depends on the content, and some sensory assists in learning. An example of this is listening to different sounds to understand the meaning or smelling things to recognize their difference. Last is using multiple senses. For example, we would like to learn specific sports such as basketball. Allowing ourselves to play basketball is the best way for us to learn, but we can also learn by watching others play the game and observing their technique and moves, as well as hearing or listening to other people's suggestions on how to play the game, and then applying all of that knowledge to our own learning.

[renskedollekamp]

I was always confused by the different types of learners because I could never really learn well using any one of the types of learning styles. I only do quite well when I practice things over and over again and I always need a lot of time to recall a lot of information.

[meowgiclegends]

I really agree with this. Partly because I always thought the concept was kind of bullshit. I'm a good student and have a reasonable capacity for memorization, but any time I was forced to figure out my "learning style" I could not do it. Because I see the value in learning in different ways. What I think is more important for learning and building meaning is not so much the method of delivery, but how "active" you are with the material. Adding context. I also see learning style used as a cop-out by so many people. "I can't learn this way because my brain doesn't work like that". Every time someone says that to me I just want to face palm. Have you even TRIED? For all the students that say they can't learn from being lectured, I would venture to guess that the issue might have more to do with your focus and attention than actual disability. It's much easier to stay engaged with something that's in your hands, or something that looks pretty. I also think that learning to love reading from an early age can make a big difference. Many people try to avoid reading if at all possible, but it's just another method of acquiring information.


That said, these are just my opinions and of course I realize I could be wrong. I have not done any research in these areas. Very interesting and provocative video.

[olababa]

I never forget things that are meaningful to me or I can relate with. This is an eye opener for me and I agree with Dr. Tesla.

[travisvanderberg]

knowing what type of personality you have will help you know what way is best for you to learn...