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
o developed mid-20th century based on four preferences
o Type of data provided based on four preferences:
o 1. Extroversion (E) vs. Introversion (I)
o 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
o 83% college student leaders are extraverts
o 65% Phi Beta Kappa members are introverts
o PBK=upperclassmen with highest GPAs
o 2. Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)
o 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’
o almost 83% national merit scholarship finalists are N
o 92% Rhodes scholars are N
o 3. Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)
o 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
o 4. Judging (J) vs. Perceptive (P)
o 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:
o ISTJ: Guardian: practical, logical, dependable
o famous ISTJs: Warren Buffett, J.D. Rockefeller
o ISTP: Craftsman: reserved, analyze with detached curiosity; logical
o famous ISTPs: Michael Jordan, Amelia Earhart
o ISFJ: Defender: responsible, friendly, conscientious
o famous ISFJs: Mother Teresa, Clara Barton
o ISFP: Composer: sensitive, kind, modest
o famous ISFPs: Steven Spielberg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
o INFJ: Protector: firm principles; quietly forceful; serve the common good
o famous INFJs: Mohandas Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt
o INFP: Dreamer: enthusiastic and loyal; care about ideas, language, and independent projects
o famous INFPs: George Orwell, Princess Diana
o INTJ: Strategist: driven by their own ideas/purposes; skeptical, determined, critical
o famous INTJs: Alan Greenspan, Hillary Clinton
o INTP: Thinker: quiet, reserved; enjoy scientific and theoretical pursuits; solve problems with analysis and logic
o famous INTPs: Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Abraham Lincoln
o ESTP: Persuader: adaptable, tolerant, dislike long explanations; do best working with real things
o famous ESTPs: Winston Churchill, Donald Trump
o ESTJ: Overseer: practical, matter of fact, realistic; run/organize activities
o famous ESTJs: George Washington, VInce Lombardi
o ESFP: Entertainer: easygoing, memorizing facts; common sense, people skills
o famous ESFPs: Elvis Presley, Ronald Reagan, Judy Garland
o ESFJ: Caregiver: talkative, cooperative, work best with praise and encouragement; interested in things that have direct and practical help in others’ lives
o famous ESFJs: Barbara Walters, Ray Kroc, Martha Stewart
o ENFP: Advocate: enthusiastic, imaginative; always willing/ready to help anyone; good at improvising
o famous ENFPs: Bill Clinton, Mark Twain
o ENFJ: Giver: responsible, sociable; responsive to praise and/or criticism; sympathetic, tactful
o famous ENFJs: Oprah Winfrey, Ralph Nader, Martin Luther King, Jr.
o ENTP: Originator: outspoken, resourceful, good at using logic to validate their rationale, change interests in rapid succession
o famous ENTPS: Walt Disney, Benjamin Franklin, Nikola Tesla
o ENTJ: Executive: decisive leader, frank, excel at logical reasoning, well-informed
o 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
