The theory of learning styles and multiple intelligences is well-established in educational circles, and embedded in the dictates of good practice is the mantra that teachers should be able to personalise learning by using such strategies.[1]
However, for many teachers, the idea of personalised learning styles remains a theory which is of little practical use in everyday teaching. There seem to be two main reasons for this. The first is to do with anxieties concerning the practicality of using a variety of different learning styles in lessons, and the second concerns their perceived value as practical educational tools. In short, either it’s too much hard work, or conversely, it doesn’t work anyway.
Lessons which are kinaesthetic or highly visual or aural are often perceived to be more trouble to prepare and resource than ‘ordinary’ lessons and are therefore seen as something to be saved for special occasions. Many teachers will further consider that a class difficult to manage in behavioural terms do not ‘deserve’ such a lesson, as though interesting tasks might be seen as an inappropriate reward for being restless.
Managing students who are doing something physical in a traditional academic subject can also be seen as much more challenging than teaching from the front, working from textbooks or — for instance — giving them a video to watch, a form of learning which is all too often seen as innovative in itself. So trying to cater for every student’s preferred learning style can seem to be an impossible task, given the other priorities that face a teacher in the classroom. As teachers so often (and truthfully) say: ‘You can’t do everything’.
On the other hand, because they do not often use such strategies in their own learning, teachers can also be doubtful about their ultimate usefulness, making them a low priority. Many teachers are profoundly literate as opposed to oral learners, having been through a long academic education which prioritises and rewards listening, writing and reading.[2] Most PGCE courses still rely on lectures and seminars to disseminate new ideas, which means that new teachers can consciously or unconsciously regard note-taking and essay-writing as the most effective way to learn, and also as somehow more ‘proper’ or appropriate.