Do kids really have different learning styles? I’m predisposed to say yes, because I have a kid who has a mis-wired brain, but I always have to keep in mind that my kid is an outlier. Statistically, looking all the millions of kids out there, do some kids have different learning styles? Well, there are no large scale statistical studies that show that some kids learn better one way and others learn better another.

The real problem is teachers spend a lot of time differentiating instruction, because that’s what they learned at their education school.

“I think it’s because they’re taught this in the education schools,” said Dr. Pashler. Many masters’ programs in education “are really not very evidence-based,” he argued. “A lot of education-school faculty are really not examining outcome literature before they make recommendations.”

Education schools aren’t providing instruction to future-teachers that are based on sound research. Later, teachers are expected to constantly rework their lesson plans, based on the latest education fad. Teachers get discouraged.