This study tested two cognitive models, learning styles and dual coding, which make contradictory predictions about how learners process and retain visual and auditory information. Learning styles-based instructional practices are common in educational environments despite a questionable research base, while the use of dual coding is less…

The most common lay explanation for the racial gap in educational achievement in the US is the "oppositional culture hypothesis", which holds that Black students tend to undervalue education and stigmatize their high-achieving peers, accusing them of "acting White". Many believe that, insofar as this hypothesis is true, Black…