Learning Styles
We checked this card's citation and the finding we state against the source's own page or record in October 2026.
What it found
Reviewing the research on learning styles, the authors found plenty of evidence that people state preferences for how information is presented, but virtually no evidence for the "meshing" pattern (teaching that matches a learner's style producing better learning) that would justify learning-styles teaching. Very few studies used a design able to test it, and several that did contradicted it.
What kind of study it is
- Design
- Review
- Weight
- Adds context: a review or a weaker design, which doesn't move a card's rating on its own.
- Limits
- A review that set out what evidence would be needed; it notes that not every version of learning styles has been tested.
Read it
doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x
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Cited in the Library
Cite this study
Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x
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