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In instructional design circles you’ll hear endless discussion about learning styles. It’s tea leaves for educators.  

The theory goes that individual students learn in different ways- specifically methods connected to different senses.  

• Aural learners process information audibly  
• kinesthetic learners require hands-on practice 
• and visual learners best process information when it is presented in an aesthetic manner.  

If you’ve ever stood in the front of a room during new hire onboarding and asked,  

“What is you learning style?” 

You know the usual response- an even split between visual and kinesthetic and NEVER an aural learner.  

Sounds like a cool thought, but the learning styles theory is wrong– dead wrong– and we have to stop approaching education (both pedagogy and andragogy) in this manner. 

Sounds like a cool thought, but the learning styles theory is wrong- dead wrong- and we have to stop approaching education (both pedagogy and andragogy) in this manner. 

• The genius of the theory is it presses instructional designers to think along the different modes in which information can be presented.  
• The failure in the theory is that it pidgeon-holes learners, to the educator and themselves, to the types of presentations that will “speak to them.”  

The fact is EVERYONE needs multi-faceted, engaging material in order to most efficiently engage with new material. The truth is that all of our senses are necessary for education optimization– clean, complimentary audio, crispy visuals, and ample opportunity to put your knowledge into practice. 

Effective education is built on the back of sensually comprehensive, entertaining material.  

Yes, entertaining.  

It’s not a dirty word- it’s the point. Entertainment simply describes the act of capturing and maintaining attention and THAT is precisely how we should be formulating onboarding material. Speak to every sense, use all of the tools at your disposal to make something memorable. 

Effective education is built on the back of sensually comprehensive, entertaining material. Yes, entertaining. It’s not a dirty word- it’s the point. 

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So, it’s important to think about the senses of the learner and how you will engage with each one. Think of a training that sounds as good as the Star Wars soundtrack; that looks as good as The Matrix; that feels like the tingles during the baptism scene in The Godfather. Give your audience enough repetition  to put this new information into practice and watch your training flourish.  

 

What’s YOUR Vision? 

 

• How you do you engage your learners in a multi-sensory way? 
• What are the mental hooks that you can attach to key material to aid the learners memory when they recall what they’ve learned?