This is fascinating. I’d never quite made the connection that a belief in learning styles might make for a fixed mindset. Thanks @brainkotts
Can Everyone Be Smart at Everything? | MindShift
Mendoza-Denton extends the idea that what’s harmful about emphasis on achievement and intelligence can also be applied to emphasis on learning styles (audio, visual) or “multiple intelligences,” a theory by Harvard professor Howard Gardner who distinguishes between different kinds of learners: spatial, linguistic, logical-mathematical, and so on.
Mendoza-Denton believes that emphasizing “native intelligences” reinforces the belief that kids are good at some things and, conversely, bad at others.
“It’s pervasive in our cultural narrative,” Mendoza-Denton said at the recent Innovative Learning Conference. “‘I’m not this kind of learner or that kind of learner. I’m good at words, but not math.’”