Learning Styles and End-User Training: An Unwarranted Leap of Faith

In a recent article in MIS Quarterly, Bostrom, et al. (1990) report that, A consistent pattern of findings emerges that indicates that learning modes is an important predictor of learning performance, both by itself and in interaction with training methods. The findings suggest that in the design of training, it is essential to match training methods to individual difference variables (p. 101). We do not agree that Bostrom, et al.'s results represent a consistent pattern of findings. Moreover, the results of this research should be discounted because the measures of learning styles were derived from an instrument with very poor psychometric properties. Thus, the conclusion that learning styles are important factors in end-user training (EUT) is unsupported at the present time.