Are we born with our learning preferences, or shaped into them?

In part one of our learning styles debate on The Bloom Room, we agreed that "preferences" was a better word than "styles". Now Chantelle, Laura and Sean explore where those preferences come from.

Sean shares what he's noticed watching his young son learn, before any preferences have formed. Laura looks at how encouraging, or uninterested, environments shape our attitude to learning. And Chantelle explores how the views of friends and family can become our own.

They also cover how technology is changing the way we learn, why a little discomfort helps, and what it means to be a good learner today.

Haven't heard part one yet? We'd recommend starting there. It's where "styles" became "preferences".

Most of us have picked up a label somewhere along the way. You're a visual learner, or you're the hands-on type, or you need to hear something explained before it clicks. It feels true when you say it, and it's a comfortable thing to believe about yourself. But the evidence that matching teaching to those preferences improves learning just isn't there. 

In part one of this two-part conversation, we look at where the VARK model came from, why it spread so quickly through education and training, and what the research actually says. Here's a peak at some of the ground we cover: 

• Preferring a method isn't the same as learning well from it. 
• Sometimes the best learning happens when learning feels a bit effortful.
• Giving ourselves labels can become ceilings. 
• The content should be shaping the method rather than the other way round. 
• It's worth checking your own bias, because designers and stakeholders bring preferences to the table too.
• And of course, why octopuses 'prefer' to crawl on the ocean floor rather than to swim.

We're living through a revolution. But are we learning through one?

In our latest episode of the Bloom Room, we got into something that sits close to home for anyone working in learning and development: what the pace of technological change is actually doing to the way we think, remember, and make sense of information.

Not in a doom-and-gloom way. More like: what does it mean to 'know' something when the answer is always one search away? And what happens to critical thinking when speed is the default?

There's something in this one for anyone curious about where human connection fits in an increasingly digital world.

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To learn more about us at Bloom and get in touch, check out https://bloomcreativelearning.com/.

In the latest episode of The Bloom Room, Sean, Laura, and Chantelle explore what happens when we stop treating learning as something we have to do, and start reconnecting with the curiosity that came so naturally to us as children.

They dig into how confidence shapes whether we dare to ask questions, what it actually takes to spark intrinsic motivation, and why the way children think might hold the key to how adults grow and learn.

Welcome to The Bloom Room!

In their first episode, Laura, Jason, Chantelle, and Sean talk about the Intersection of Humanity and Technology, inspired by Chantelle and Jason's visit to LN Connect 2025.

The team discuss how technology is reshaping learning, and share insights about generational differences along the way. The discussion also touches on rethinking success metrics, the role of data and AI, and wraps up with a quiz that highlights, among other quirks, AI’s growing sense of humour.