Learning Styles or Learning Preferences: What Truly Shapes How Students Learn?

Learning learning with different learning materials

 Recently, I stumbled on a write-up titled “Learning Styles and Learning Preferences.” It caught my attention immediately.

For years, I’ve advocated that teachers should understand their students’ learning styles so they can teach more effectively. But this article opened a new layer of thought for me ... one that every educator should reflect on.

The writer explained that while we’ve long believed in teaching according to each student’s learning style, adapting to every individual’s style might actually be more expensive and less effective than we think. Instead, it may be wiser to let students interact with learning materials starting with their preferred way, and then gradually expose them to other ways of learning.

That was fascinating!


A Shift in Thinking

For decades, the idea of learning styles: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, has shaped teacher training across the world. The message was clear: if you want to reach every child, teach according to their style.

But in recent years, research has told a different story. Studies such as those by Pashler et al. (2008) and Coffield et al. (2004) found little solid evidence that matching teaching to learning styles improves learning outcomes.
What really matters, they discovered, is how students engage with the learning process... not the label we attach to their brains.

When we allow learners to begin from their preferred way... perhaps through visuals, hands-on tasks, or listening, they start from a place of comfort. That sense of ease opens the door for curiosity. And as they explore, they begin to stretch into other ways of processing information.

That’s how learning becomes holistic!


Learning Styles vs. Learning Preferences

  • Learning styles speak to cognitive abilities: how the brain processes and organizes information.

  • Learning preferences speak to comfort and motivation: how a learner chooses to interact with new information.

Understanding this difference helps us shift our focus as educators. 

We stop trying to fit every lesson into neat “style boxes,” and instead create experiences that engage multiple senses, spark curiosity, and encourage flexibility.



In inclusive education, we work with learners who experience the world differently. Some need more structure, others need more movement, some rely on visuals, and others learn best through conversation or repetition.

When we focus only on styles, we risk limiting them. But when we focus on preferences, we give them a starting point... a place of confidence, while still encouraging them to explore other pathways.


That’s how we build adaptive learners who can thrive in diverse learning environments!


Dear Educators,

The goal isn’t to teach to every learning style.
The goal is to create learning experiences where students can begin with what feels natural and grow into what challenges them.

When we do this, we’re not just teaching information , we’re building learners who can think, feel, and adapt.


☘️


So perhaps it’s time we stopped asking, “What’s this student’s learning style?”
And instead began asking, “How can I help this student learn in ways that both comfort and stretch them?”






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