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Source: Top10OnlineColleges.org

One Style Does Not Fit All: How Personality Differences Affect Learning

Education is broken.

School doesn’t work.

The US is falling behind.

● Literacy Rates:

○ 2009: 1 in 3 students scored “below basic” on the NAEP Reading Test (National Assessment of Education Progress

■ 49% of the students who scored “below basic” were from low-income families

■ more than 67% of all US fourth graders scored “below proficient”

● they were not reading at grade level

○ 26% of eighth graders and 27% of twelfth graders scored below “basic” level

○ 32% eighth graders and 38% twelfth graders were at or above grade level

(assessment by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)

● Math and Science:

○ 15-year-olds in the U.S. ranked 25th (out of 30 countries) in math performance

○ 15-year-olds in the U.S. ranked 21st (out of 30 countries) in science performance

● American 12th graders ranked 19th out of 21 industrialized countries in math achievement

○ they ranked 16th out of 21 in science

○ they ranked last (21st) out of 21 in advanced physics

● since 1983, more than 10 million Americans reached twelfth grade without knowing how to read at a basic level

○ more than 20 million reached twelfth grade without being able to do basic math

● Some things to consider:

○ Many students are not well-suited to wrote memorization

○ Memorization is favored by US public schools

○ An innovative/flexible approach to teaching would encompass more than one learning style

Different types of learning:

● Visual (spatial): prefer using pictures, images, spatial understanding

● Aural (auditory-musical): prefer using music and sounds

● Verbal (linguistic): prefer using words, in writing and speech

● Logical (mathematical): prefer using systems, logic, and reasoning

● Physical (kinesthetic): prefer using sense of touch, hands, body

● Social (interpersonal): prefer to learn with other people or in groups

● Solitary (intrapersonal): prefer to use self-study and work alone

Each learning style uses different parts of the brain

○ left hemisphere:

■ speech

■ attention to details

■ writing, reading

■ verbal memory, verbal thinking

■ processes information in a linear manner

○ right hemisphere:

■ processing and storage of visual, tactile, musical, and spatial information

■ handles complex non-verbal material

● intuition, perceptiveness, inspirational hunches, emotional processing

Personality heavily influences learning style:

Collaborative learning isn’t for everyone:

● classrooms are typically situated for extroverts

● extroverts thrive working in collaborative groups and during class discussions

○ comfortable with public speaking and presentations

● introverts prefer quiet (as opposed to classroom noise and being bombarded with stimuli)

○ prefer working on individual projects

○ independent thinking

Differences in basic personality affect our preferences for acquiring and integrating information

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

An assessment that divides and defines personality types

• developed mid-20th century based on four preferences

• Type of data provided based on four preferences:

◦ 1. Extroversion (E) vs. Introversion (I)

• how you direct your energy and relate to the world around you

▪ E: action oriented; energized by other people and things

▪ I: reflective thinker; energized by their inner world of ideas, abstractions, concepts

• 83% college student leaders are extraverts

• 65% Phi Beta Kappa members are introverts

◦ PBK=upperclassmen with highest GPAs

◦ 2. Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)

• how you take in information from the environment

▪ S: detail oriented, trust and rely on facts

▪ N: seek patterns and relationships; trust hunches; look for the ‘big picture’

• almost 83% national merit scholarship finalists are N

• 92% Rhodes scholars are N

◦ 3. Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)

• how you make decisions

▪ T: value fairness; focus on situation’s logic; use objective criteria

▪ F: focus on human needs and values; value harmony; good at persuasion

◦ 4. Judging (J) vs. Perceptive (P)

• how you orient yourself with/to the outside world

▪ J: decisive, self-motivated, plan ahead, adhere to deadlines

▪ P: adaptable, curious, spontaneous; difficulty finishing a task; ignore deadlines

● Combined preferences indicate the Myers-Briggs personality type

There are 16 different MBTI types and each type has a distinct preferred learning style:

16 personality types:

• ISTJ: Guardian: practical, logical, dependable

◦ famous ISTJs: Warren Buffett, J.D. Rockefeller

• ISTP: Craftsman: reserved, analyze with detached curiosity; logical

◦ famous ISTPs: Michael Jordan, Amelia Earhart

• ISFJ: Defender: responsible, friendly, conscientious

◦ famous ISFJs: Mother Teresa, Clara Barton

• ISFP: Composer: sensitive, kind, modest

◦ famous ISFPs: Steven Spielberg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• INFJ: Protector: firm principles; quietly forceful; serve the common good

◦ famous INFJs: Mohandas Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt

• INFP: Dreamer: enthusiastic and loyal; care about ideas, language, and independent projects

◦ famous INFPs: George Orwell, Princess Diana

• INTJ: Strategist: driven by their own ideas/purposes; skeptical, determined, critical

◦ famous INTJs: Alan Greenspan, Hillary Clinton

• INTP: Thinker: quiet, reserved; enjoy scientific and theoretical pursuits; solve problems with analysis and logic

◦ famous INTPs: Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Abraham Lincoln

• ESTP: Persuader: adaptable, tolerant, dislike long explanations; do best working with real things

◦ famous ESTPs: Winston Churchill, Donald Trump

• ESTJ: Overseer: practical, matter of fact, realistic; run/organize activities

◦ famous ESTJs: George Washington, VInce Lombardi

• ESFP: Entertainer: easygoing, memorizing facts; common sense, people skills

◦ famous ESFPs: Elvis Presley, Ronald Reagan, Judy Garland

• ESFJ: Caregiver: talkative, cooperative, work best with praise and encouragement; interested in things that have direct and practical help in others’ lives

◦ famous ESFJs: Barbara Walters, Ray Kroc, Martha Stewart

• ENFP: Advocate: enthusiastic, imaginative; always willing/ready to help anyone; good at improvising

◦ famous ENFPs: Bill Clinton, Mark Twain

• ENFJ: Giver: responsible, sociable; responsive to praise and/or criticism; sympathetic, tactful

◦ famous ENFJs: Oprah Winfrey, Ralph Nader, Martin Luther King, Jr.

• ENTP: Originator: outspoken, resourceful, good at using logic to validate their rationale, change interests in rapid succession

◦ famous ENTPS: Walt Disney, Benjamin Franklin, Nikola Tesla

• ENTJ: Executive: decisive leader, frank, excel at logical reasoning, well-informed

◦ famous ENTJs: Carl Sagan, Margaret Thatcher

CTA: Different personality types utilize different learning styles; sensitivity to these differences would help students succeed.

Sources:

http://www.studentsfirst.org/pages/the-stats

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0033.html

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/science/article/pii/S0191886911002194

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/a-primer-for-mixing-introverts-and-extroverts-in-the-classroom/

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/type-tables.asp

http://www.truity.com/view/types

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm