Learning Styles: Threat or Opportunity?

To most learning professionals, the fact that individuals learn differently is seen as a challenge. However, it is possible for learning organizations not only to engage workers in the various mediums they prefer but also to leverage different learning styles for competitive advantage, all while maintaining cost-effective design and delivery.

Carol is detail-oriented; Anika likes the big picture. James takes to images; Dipan prefers words. Albert learns best by listening; Betsy is a better verbal learner. And Charles likes to learn through activities and role-playing.

These are observations we make all the time in corporate environments as we communicate and collaborate with colleagues and as we plan, design and execute learning events. They point to a truth that all learning professionals know, but that is — for now, at least — usually not addressed by most organizations: People think and learn in different ways. Although we share a great deal in common simply by having the same genetic code, our brains process information differently. We have different thinking styles or cognitive styles — and, therefore, we have different learning styles.

The question is: Does the awareness of different thinking and learning styles have value that can really shape how enterprise learning events are delivered on a day-to-day basis, given the other demands on the time of learning professionals and the other mandates they struggle to meet?

Learning executives today face growing pressure to deliver effective learning experiences cost-effectively. If you’re trying to develop a rapid, factory approach to learning delivery, the intricacies of individual learning styles are likely to be overlooked or tabled for a later day. Yet think for a moment of the hidden business costs when learning departments design courses without sufficient attention to the manner in which their employees as individuals optimally learn. Research suggests that much of what learning departments develop today washes over many employees like rain on a waterproof jacket. In other words, a great deal of corporate learning is either a waste of money or delivering only a small portion of the potential return on investment.