I feel that collaborating with others is one of the most essential tasks of educators. We work as a member of a learning community and while we deal primarily with students our impact is far reaching. If we want to be able to facilitate our student's learning then I believe we need to view our students within a framework of acceptance. The way we see the world is our inherent orientation and needs to be accepted and celebrated. We need to form teams where all personality types are included. The challenge in our classrooms is to ensure we get input from all types both extrovert and introverts and that we allow needed structure for Judging types and choice and spontenaity fro perceiving individuals. Our personality type is our way of being, of making sense of our world. True collaboration involves a heartfelt strategy of pulling everyone together to work towards a common goal. The challenge with true collaboration is that the strategies or avenues we feel most comfortable with may be the least comfortable for others. Often collaboration does entail a large degree of mediation where a joint agreement is reached. I think it is for this reason that most effective teaching outlines a mix of group and individual work opportunities.
As an ESFJ I think that my descriptors in the Jung Typology Test were pretty accurate of my personality: service oriented, nuturing, cooperative, sympathetic, detail oriented, overly vigilant, highly sensitive, with a strong dislike of conflict. For me the list was not a surprise but what I now realise is my personality characteristics will lead me to teach in a certain way naturally. The challenge as I continue on my journey in PDP will be to make sure that I include strategies that will make the other personality types in my class feel both welcomed and empowered to learn in a way that best expresses who they are.
On a personal note I believe that a lot of misbehaviour that occurs in the classroom is a result of a disconnect between the classroom hierarchy (set up by the teacher) and the individual personality needs of the students. My preferred solution would be to proactively schedule activities but that appeals to my need for organization and orderly explanantions as a ESFJ!!
I think it is enlightening that many of us seem to surround ourselves with friends and spouses that are very dissimilar to us with regards to personality types - perhaps a way to balance our our inherent strenghts and weaknesses?
1 comment:
Hi Lisa – thank you so much for your kind words on the classroom mgmt blog –
Check out Carol Tomlinson’s website. When I did that paper (it was for my 401 practicum), her name kept popping up as I guess she is the guru.
My mom sent me a chapters gift card, so I think I will buy the same book. One of my goals for my PDP action plan was to better incorporate differentiation into my lessons. The grade 7 teacher from my kids’ school is doing his master’s right now and he told me differentiation is “hot on the table.”
You are absolutely right that we are members of a learning community and we balance each other's strengths and weaknesses by collaborating effectively. We can all learn from each other and need to take something meaningful away from our interactions and/or confrontations. Looking at things throught the eyes of others (especially a child's perspective as per the text) is critical for our own development.
-Helen
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