I heard this story from National Public Radio (NPR) on the morning of August 29. Here is the link.
http://www.npr.org/think-youre-an-auditory-or-visual-learner-scientists-say-its-unlikely?
The version you can listen to is different from what you can read. And that is the point of the story.
In summary, the idea of learning styles- auditory, visual, kinesthetic-turns out to have no scientific basis. And learning is stronger when the same information is given in a variety of ways. It helps with attention and retention.
In my mind, I am trying to see the difference between “learning style” and “learning media”. Students with visual impairment may have limited access to a variety of media. However, teaching only to a student’s strongest media may limit their learning. For example, giving a student everything auditorially because that is their strongest learning media, may impact their ability to pay attention and retain information. Ensuring that students who primarily use auditory information...