It’s a common belief in education that understanding how students learn best can significantly improve teaching and learning outcomes. This belief has fueled the popularity of learning styles, the idea that individuals learn differently and have preferred methods of learning. But When Were Learning Styles First Discovered, and what is the history behind this widespread concept?
To understand the origins of learning styles, we need to delve into the history of psychology and education. The notion that individuals have different learning preferences isn’t a recent phenomenon. Its roots can be traced back to the early 20th century, although the formal articulation and categorization of these styles developed over several decades.
One of the earliest influences can be seen in the work of Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. While Jung didn’t directly discuss “learning styles,” his theory of psychological types, introduced in his 1921 book Psychological Types, laid some groundwork. Jung proposed that individuals have preferences in how they perceive the world and make decisions. He identified dimensions like introversion vs. extroversion, sensing vs. intuition, thinking vs. feeling, and perceiving vs. judging. These psychological types, although not learning styles themselves, suggested that people have inherent differences in how they approach and interact with information.
Building upon Jung’s ideas, educational psychologists began to explore how these individual differences might relate to learning. In the 1950s and 1960s, researchers started focusing more directly on learning preferences. One notable figure in this period was David Ausubel, who emphasized the importance of meaningful verbal learning. While not explicitly about learning styles, Ausubel’s work highlighted the role of prior knowledge and cognitive structures in how individuals learn, suggesting that learning isn’t a uniform process.
The concept of learning styles started to gain more concrete shape in the 1970s. Joseph Renzulli‘s triad model of enrichment (though primarily focused on gifted education) acknowledged different learning styles as part of a broader educational approach. Around the same time, Anthony Gregorc developed his Style Delineator, which categorized learning styles based on perception (concrete vs. abstract) and ordering (sequential vs. random). Gregorc’s work was among the first to offer a structured model for identifying and applying learning styles in education.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a proliferation of learning style models. David Kolb‘s Experiential Learning Theory, with its four learning styles (converging, diverging, assimilating, and accommodating), became highly influential. Kolb’s model, published in his 1984 book Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development, emphasized the cyclical nature of learning and how individuals process experience differently.
Another highly popular model emerged from Neil Fleming and Colleen Mills in 1992: VARK (Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, Kinesthetic). VARK provided a simple and accessible framework for educators to understand and address different sensory preferences in learning. Its practicality and ease of use contributed significantly to the widespread adoption of learning styles in teaching practices.
It’s important to note that while the idea of learning styles became increasingly popular and widely applied in education, it has also faced significant criticism from the scientific community in recent years. Many researchers argue that there is limited empirical evidence to support the validity and reliability of learning style models. Critics point out that the research base is weak and that attempts to tailor instruction based on learning styles have not consistently shown improved learning outcomes.
Despite the criticisms, the enduring appeal of learning styles likely stems from its intuitive nature and the desire to personalize education. The idea that we can cater to individual differences to enhance learning remains a compelling goal for educators.
In conclusion, while precursors existed earlier, the formal discovery and articulation of learning styles as distinct categories and models primarily occurred from the 1970s through the 1990s. Starting with roots in personality theories like Jung’s, educational psychologists developed various frameworks to understand and categorize learning preferences. Models like Gregorc’s, Kolb’s, and VARK became particularly influential in shaping educational thinking and practice, even though the scientific basis for learning styles continues to be debated. Understanding the history of learning styles helps us appreciate its evolution and the ongoing conversation about how to best address individual differences in learning.
References
- Jung, C. G. (1971). Psychological types. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1921)
- Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Fleming, N. D., & Mills, C. (1992). VARK: A guide to learning styles. Retrieved from [VARK website – example URL if available]
(Note: Placeholder image URLs are used as I don’t have access to images from the original PDF. In a real application, I would use the actual image URLs and create appropriate alt text.)
