Learning styles and online learning

I first came across the idea of learning styles when I was teaching online courses for CSU Hayward (now East Bay) about 12 years ago. Someone teaching one of the other courses in the program must have emphasized learning styles because many students brought it up in online discussions. I was not familiar with the idea, but I looked into it, found very little other than learning preference surveys and thought that was the end of it for me. However,  since then, learning styles seem to follow anywhere you find discussions of online teaching and learning. This is true despite the absence of academic research supporting any benefits related to designing for learning styles.

Guy Wallace's article from the November, 2011 issue of eLearn magazine, Why Is the Research on Learning Styles Still Being Dismissed by Some Learning Leaders and Practitioners? is a nice summary of the learning styles issue along with a discussion of why people sometimes believe things despite evidence to the contrary. (No mention of global warming deniers in the article). The idea of learning styles has some intuitive appeal, but does it make a difference? So far, the answer to that question is a very clear "No". Even so, browse the forums in any medium to large size online class where there is a discussion of online teaching and learning and you will find the topic of learning styles.