Learning styles in the classroom: Educational benefit or planning exercise?

Differentiation of teaching is encouraged to accommodate student diversity. This study investigated whether using learning styles as a basis for differentiation improved A–level student performance, compared to differentiation on the basis of academic ability. Matched classes of A–level psychology students participated. In one class, learning activities were differentiated by academic ability; in the other class, learning activities were differentiated by learning style for nine weeks, followed by a further class test. Student understanding of learning styles was also investigated. Both classes significantly improved from baseline to final test, but there was no significant difference in improvement between the two groups, and indeed a slight trend for more improvement following differentiation by ability. Further research into personalised learning is required, and suggestions are made for a student–focussed intervention to enable students to better understand and to employ their own learning styles as a tool for independent study.