Good Teaching IS NOT a Modality Menu

The AHEAD (2019) video on Universal Design for Learning makes a sensible point: variability among learners is not an exception but the rule (CAST, 2018). Good teaching, therefore, is not about finding a mythical “average” student but about designing flexible entry points into complex ideas. Yet this is where good teaching is often misunderstood. In many classrooms, it becomes tangled up with the old “learning styles” myth, as though presenting information in three formats (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) were sufficient to meet the diverse ways people learn. This is an unfortunate and gross simplification of what good teaching is.

In practice, good teaching is less about catering to preferences than it is removing barriers to meaning-making. Take concept mapping. It can give students multiple ways to see and build relationships among ideas, strengthening memory and understanding (Nesbit & Adesope, 2006). Games and simulations, regardless of whether they align with state learning standards, allow for active experimentation and feedback loops, which engage emotional and cognitive networks simultaneously (Gee, 2007). These strategies do not assume fixed “styles”; they create a rich ecology of learning experiences that any student can move through.

An action research project could examine how these multi-sensory approaches improve engagement and transfer of learning, especially when compared with lessons designed around a single mode of delivery. The key question is not “Which style does this student have?” but “How can multiple representations and expressions deepen conceptual understanding for everyone?”

Ultimately, the goal of good teaching and varied instructional strategies is not to multiply materials for imaginary learner types, but to design for flexibility and rigor grounded in how people actually learn (CAST, 2018; Kirschner, 2017).

References:

AHEAD. (2019, August 13). What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/AGQ_7K35ysA

CAST. (2018). Universal Design for Learning guidelines version 2.2. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Gee, J. P. (2007). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Kirschner, P. A. (2017). Stop propagating the learning styles myth. Computers & Education, 106, 166–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.12.006

Nesbit, J. C., & Adesope, O. O. (2006). Learning with concept and knowledge maps: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 76(3), 413–448. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543076003413