You’ve probably heard the idea that everyone learns differently. In today’s classroom, some people are thought to be auditory learners, while others are thought to be more visual. According to a recent study, this may not be true.

The study, published in the journal of Psychological Science of Public Interest by psychologist Doug Rohrer and colleagues, examines previous studies of learning styles and found inadequate evidence supporting the theory. He and other psychologists suggest educators use more “evidence-based” teaching techniques, rather than tailoring to individual learning styles.

Fannie Mae Box is the administrator of Faith Christian Academy, a home school ministry in Florence. When parents come to her, the first thing she asks them about is how their child learns. Box has raised five children herself, one of whom was dyslexic.

“I really don’t know how you can take 35 children and put one thing in front of them and all of them come out (understanding it),” said Box. “I know for a fact that people learn differently.”

Rohrer’s study disputes such viewpoints. Although people may have preferences in the way they learn, this doesn’t mean they have a greater ability to learn one way as opposed to another. In other words, a person’s strength isn’t the only way a person can learn. For this reason, Rohrer finds tailoring instruction to a student’s learning style unnecessary.

Psychologist and professor at the University of Virginia Dan Willingham also disputes this idea. He said it implies that people’s brains work in fundamentally different ways and believes finding similarities in how people learn would be more helpful than focusing on differences.

Catie Bryan, an elementary education major at UNA, agrees that variety is beneficial. She said her classes at UNA teach that mixing it up is a good way to teach groups where there may be different learning styles. However, she still believes that individual learning styles exist and are important to recognize.

Alice Hill, a secondary education and English language arts major at UNA, believes that learning styles are important to recognize. Her classes at UNA have taught her the importance of recognizing different learning styles.

Despite the lack of evidence supporting the learning styles theory, educators like Box may be unwilling to change their approach just yet. Box said she knows from experience that people simply don’t learn the same way.

As far as Hill is concerned, more evidence needs to be found.

“I’m not saying there’s no truth to it, but there needs to be more study,” she said.