Bill:  Have you checked out Dr. Bernice McCarthy's 4MAT Model?  See 
www.aboutlearning.com for more information.  One can take only one 
aspect of something that is fairly complex and tear it apart, what is 
important is looking at it from a wholistic perspective.  The video is 
correct in that people don't learn in either an auditory or kinesthetic 
or visual way (there's also the mixed way), rather they take in 
information in those ways.  Some people have a preference for one over 
another in that process, even though, having a disability not 
withstanding, everyone uses all three ways.  Kolb, Jung and others 
would, I believe, disagree with the flat statement that there is no such 
thing as learning styles.
 Chuck Killingsworth


On 8/30/2010 10:58 AM, Bill Goffe wrote:
> Ruth said (in part):
>
>> The trouble with using methods like previous grades ...
> Certainly it is desirable to spread more capable students around, but as
> many pointed out, doing so is fraught with difficulties. Sometime back
> someone here suggested the following proxy: ask students if other students
> ask them for help with Excel. It isn't perfect, but students think you'll
> be doing Excel in the class and not screening for intellectual ability.
> I've used it for some semesters and my teams seem reasonably balanced and
> I did it in a transparent way.
>
>      - Bill
>
> P.S. On learning styles, apparently there is a large literature that
>       pretty much says that they don't exist. I rather like this video on
>       this finding by a noted cognitive scientist:
>       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv9rz2NTUk .
>
>
>