In this newsletter, I'm going to share the following:

• A recent research review on learning styles.
• An opportunity (and discount) for my upcoming Gold Certification Workshop on Performance-Focused Learner Surveys.
• The 2023 Learning Trends Survey. Can you Help?

In writing my new book, CEO’S Guide to Training, eLearning & Work: Reshaping Learning into a Competitive Advantage, I have a chapter on learning myths that learning teams should be worried about. I don't provide a full list of myths, just a dozen major ones. For a larger list see excellent books like Clark Quinn’s Millennials, Goldfish & Other Training Misconceptions, and Pedro de Bruyckere, Paul Kirschner, and Carl Hulshof’s two books on Urban Myths about Learning and Education.

I did, in the chapter notes for the book, compile some of the recent research on learning styles, and I thought you might be interested--maybe you could use this to convince your stakeholders--so here it is, in first draft form:

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Learning Styles

There are very strong reviews that show that the learning styles notion is a myth worth avoiding. The Association for Psychological Science published a definitive review in 2008 from four of the top learning researchers.

• Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105–119. Available at: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journ...

Famed educational researcher Daniel Willingham and colleagues conducted their own review and found learning styles a poor way to design learning.

• Willingham, D. T., Hughes, E. M., & Dobolyi, D. G. (2015). The scientific status of learning styles theories. Teaching of Psychology, 42(3), 266–271.

Here are two reviews each examining aspects of one learning-styles approach—and finding them wanting.

• Klitmøller, J. (2015). Review of the methods and findings in the Dunn and Dunn learning styles model research on perceptual preferences. Nordic Psychology, 67(1), 2–26.
• Calderón Carvajal, C., Ximénez Gómez, C., Lay-Lisboa, S., & Briceño, M. (2021). Reviewing the structure of Kolb’s Learning Style inventory from factor analysis and Thurstonian Item Response Theory (IRT) model approaches. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 39(5), 593–609.

One researcher who once advocated for designing elearning differently based on people’s cognitive learning styles did further research and now disavows learning styles.

• Cook, D. A. (2012). Revisiting cognitive and learning styles in computer-assisted instruction: Not so useful after all. Academic Medicine, 87(6), 778–784.

Researchers have begun to come to grips with the widespread dispersion of the learning styles myth, tracking its history, lamenting its current reach, and strategizing ways to limit the damage.

• Dekker, H. D., & Kim, J. A. (2022). The widespread belief in learning styles. In D. H. Robinson, V. X. Yan, & J. A. Kim (Eds.), Learning styles, classroom instruction, and student achievement (pp. 11–20). Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
• Olsen, A. A., Romig, J. E., Green, A. L., Joswick, C., & Nandakumar, V. (2022). Myth busted or zombie concept? A systematic review of articles referencing “learning styles” from 2009 to 2019. In D. H. Robinson, V. X. Yan, & J. A. Kim (Eds.), Learning styles, classroom instruction, and student achievement (pp. 39–57). Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
• Nancekivell, S. E., Shah, P., & Gelman, S. A. (2020). Maybe they’re born with it, or maybe it’s experience: Toward a deeper understanding of the learning style myth. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(2), 221–235.

There are even research-based discussions that show how harmful the learning-styles myth can be for those designing learning.

• Nancekivell, S. E., Sun, X., Gelman, S. A., & Shah, P. (2021). A slippery myth: How learning style beliefs shape reasoning about multimodal instruction and related scientific evidence. Cognitive Science, 45(10), Article e13047.
• Yan, V. X., & Fralick, C. M. (2022). Consequences of endorsing the individual learning styles myth: Helpful, harmful, or harmless? In D. H. Robinson, V. X. Yan, & J. A. Kim (Eds.), Learning styles, classroom instruction, and student achievement (pp. 59–74). Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Lots of people deserve credit for debunking this damaging myth, but I don’t want you to overlook an important new contribution from Daniel Robinson, Veronica Yan, and Joseph Kim, editors of a research-focused book on learning styles, Learning Styles, Classroom Instruction, and Student Achievement.

From time to time I teach a workshop on Performance-Focused Learner Surveys. Recently 11 people earned their Gold Certification Status by participating in my workshop and by meeting the requirements to earn the certificate.

I'm hosting another workshop in a few weeks and I invite you to join with a special discount for being a subscriber to my newsletter.

Here's the link to register:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/p...

And here is the 20% off discount code, only applicable until the workshop is filled.

Discount Code:  WILLSLIST20

And here is a link to learn more about the workshop:

https://tier1performance.com/p...

The Learning Trends Survey is a diagnostic. It helps learning professionals like you and me, and is especially powerful when we get our whole team  together to diagnose our current practices.

Please join with me and our fellow learning-and-development professionals in using the survey for ourselves and our teams and to help us collect information that strengthens the industry!

Here's the survey link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NYBRKB7

I'm really proud of this year's Learning Trends Survey. Yes, I'm biased as I am on the team at TiER1 Performance that built it.

Last year we were deluged with feedback from trainers, instructional designers, elearning developers, and learning executives that the survey questions were the best they'd seen--that they brought insights and inspired great conversations. This year's survey is even better.

Please do me two favors. Complete the survey and do what you can to share the survey link with others. We are especially interested in expanding our reach to more people around the world, to learning professionals with all level of experience and backgrounds. 

Thank you!

ONE MORE THING. I NEED YOUR HELP.

One thing that we're hoping to do better this year is to get a wider audience from across the world and from learning professionals from a wider array of backgrounds. I am reaching out to my contacts on LinkedIn but if you could share with your connections, that would be a big help.

Again, here's the survey link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NYBRKB7

And, if you want some language to make this easy, maybe this will help:

What’s the purpose of the Learning Trends Diagnostic Survey?

Every year since 2016, the Learning Trends Diagnostic Survey has taken the pulse of Learning and Performance professionals with the goal of uncovering critical trends that learning teams and individuals can use in their own decision-making and planning.

Who should provide data?

Anyone who works in the Learning and Performance field (aka anyone in learning and development) is eligible to contribute to 2023 Learning Trends.

Why might you want to participate?

First, taking the Learning Trends Survey enables us to diagnose and reflect on our current practices and the trends that impact us. It can be even more powerful when we do this with our learning teams!

Second, when we get the report we can benchmark our learning team against the industry, even against "exemplary" learning teams.

Third, the Learning Trends Diagnostic Survey is an unrivaled diagnostic and benchmarking tool. By completing the survey, you will be helping professionals like yourself and the learning teams we all work on.