You’ll remember all that stuff about visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. You probably have even participated in an activity or test that was supposed to “diagnose” your learning style. This idea made sense to us: some people may learn better if they learn in different ways. We’ve held onto this idea for decades.
While it’s true that we have preferences for learning (some people like reading more than listening), it turns out that there’s little evidence for the idea that these preferences lead to better learning. Learning styles just may not work.
That doesn’t mean that all learning activities are created equally. A ton of learning science finds that some techniques are much more effective than others. For example, using active recall, where you reach back into your brain to search for an answer, is much more effective than re-reading, highlighting, concept mapping, or recognition of the right answer in later recall. Similarly, spacing learning out is better for recall than cramming it all in at once (but you knew that).
[ Related article : The Most Effective Way to Study ]