You Are Not a Kinesthetic Learner - by Thomas Fallace (Paperback)

About the Book

"The notion that we all process information in one of three distinct modes-visual, auditory, or kinesthetic-is familiar to all of us; indeed, it has shaped teaching practices for decades. It may be surprising, then, to learn that the notion of learning styles is in fact widely debunked. So why does it retain such a powerful hold on us? In this book, historian Thomas Fallace traces the origins, evolution, and history of the controversial learning style idea. He shows that the research supporting the learning style idea was problematic from its inception in the 1910s as a strategy for teaching students in remedial reading classes. Decades later, as the Civil Rights movement demanded government solutions to racial inequality, scholars of education began to look for tools to address discrepancies in schooling outcomes between white children and children of color. Cultural differences perceived as deficits in Black and Brown children were taken to justify teaching with a different learning style requiring a distinct approach. In the 1980s, many scholars and educators determined that students of color were "kinesthetic" learners, an idea used to label and justify a diminished curriculum for Black and Latinx students. In our era of high-stakes testing, administrators and teachers have eagerly embraced learning styles as a common-sense approach that seemed to promise positive outcomes. However, research increasingly shows that empirical studies do not find the approach effective. Rather than labeling students as visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners (along with the hidden value judgments in each category), teachers ought to be labeling activities and then using the most appropriate method for the content or topic at hand. Ultimately, Fallace issues a full-throated call for the end of learning styles as the basis for an instructional tool kit. The danger of the learning style idea lies in the act of sorting and labeling students with permanent style identities"--

Book Synopsis

A compelling history of the learning style concept and how it was shaped by shifting ideas in psychology, anthropology, and education.

The widely embraced notion that we all process information in one of three distinct modes--visual, auditory, or kinesthetic--has informed educational practices for decades. In recent years, however, numerous studies have questioned the effectiveness of aligning instruction with the alleged learning styles of individual students. So, why is it still commonplace in the literature on beneficial teaching at all levels of education?

In You Are Not a Kinesthetic Learner: The Troubled History of a Dangerous Idea, historian Thomas Fallace traces the origins, evolution, and history of the learning style idea, demonstrating its relationship to a legacy of unequal education for children of color. Fallace argues that the research supporting the learning style idea was problematic from its inception in the 1910s and that it was used to label and justify a diminished curriculum for many Black and Latine students, whose cultural differences were perceived as weaknesses. In recent years, numerous empirical studies have not found the approach to be effective. This fascinating history clearly shows the danger of sorting and labeling students with permanent style identities and makes a strong case for removing learning styles as the basis for any educators' instructional toolkit.

The first book-length history of learning styles, You Are Not a Kinesthetic Learner encourages us all to consider the research, be open to future developments and updates, and question even our most intuitive assumptions.

Review Quotes

--Annie Abrams, author of "Shortchanged: How Advanced Placement Cheats Students"

"--Jack Schneider, author of "A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School"

About the Author

Thomas Fallace is professor of education at William Paterson University. He is the author of In the Shadow of Authoritarianism: American Education in the Twentieth Century and Race and the Origins of Progressive Education, 1890-1929, among others.