MHR 6551
Differences in Learning Style Preferences Among Adult Learners
Columbia Southern University
MHR 6551-19M-3A21-S2, Training and Development
Differences in Learning Style Preferences Among Adult Learners
Adult learning styles are a highly relevant and relatively well-researched topic in
scholarly literature. Experts recommend considering employees’ individual learning styles to
maximize the outcomes of training. Some believe that generational differences affect trainees’
learning styles and suggest that different generational cohorts require other delivery methods. In
the article “Generational Differences in Learning Style Preferences Among Adult Learners in the
United States,” Shepherd (2020) tests this hypothesis and establishes that adult learners’ age does
not matter much; Shepherd’s findings are helpful in that they dispel the popular misconception.
The main takeaway from Shepherd’s article (2020) is the lack of empirical evidence
supporting the assumption that there are generational differences in preferred learning styles.
The styles addressed in the report are active, reflective, sensing, intuiting, visual, verbal,
sequential, and global (Shepherd, 2020). The rationale behind Shepherd’s (2000) choice of the
research topic is that generational differences in learning style preferences are a relatively
popular subject in the scholarly literature; the author aims to debunk the existing myths. The
results reveal that the only pronounced difference is the visual/verbal dimension: according to the
findings, millennials “expressed a stronger preference for the visual dimension than the Baby
Boomer and Generation X cohorts did” (Shepherd, 2020, p. 154). Otherwise, Shepherd (2020)
found that learners’ values were very similar: all generational cohorts were represented mostly
the sensing, visual, and sequential dimensions.
Shepherd’s findings (2020) suggest that learners’ individual learning preferences should
be accounted for above their generation. However, in the literature review section of the article,
Differences in Learning Style Preferences Among Adult Learners
Columbia Southern University
MHR 6551-19M-3A21-S2, Training and Development
Differences in Learning Style Preferences Among Adult Learners
Adult learning styles are a highly relevant and relatively well-researched topic in
scholarly literature. Experts recommend considering employees’ individual learning styles to
maximize the outcomes of training. Some believe that generational differences affect trainees’
learning styles and suggest that different generational cohorts require other delivery methods. In
the article “Generational Differences in Learning Style Preferences Among Adult Learners in the
United States,” Shepherd (2020) tests this hypothesis and establishes that adult learners’ age does
not matter much; Shepherd’s findings are helpful in that they dispel the popular misconception.
The main takeaway from Shepherd’s article (2020) is the lack of empirical evidence
supporting the assumption that there are generational differences in preferred learning styles.
The styles addressed in the report are active, reflective, sensing, intuiting, visual, verbal,
sequential, and global (Shepherd, 2020). The rationale behind Shepherd’s (2000) choice of the
research topic is that generational differences in learning style preferences are a relatively
popular subject in the scholarly literature; the author aims to debunk the existing myths. The
results reveal that the only pronounced difference is the visual/verbal dimension: according to the
findings, millennials “expressed a stronger preference for the visual dimension than the Baby
Boomer and Generation X cohorts did” (Shepherd, 2020, p. 154). Otherwise, Shepherd (2020)
found that learners’ values were very similar: all generational cohorts were represented mostly
the sensing, visual, and sequential dimensions.
Shepherd’s findings (2020) suggest that learners’ individual learning preferences should
be accounted for above their generation. However, in the literature review section of the article,
