As a library professional, I may very well find myself instructing a group of people on how to perform effective searches in databases or how to establish basic research skills. I generally consider myself to be quite the introvert and the idea of standing up in front of a classroom of strangers is, well, quite terrifying. Will I get my points across clearly and effectively? Will I speak loud enough for everyone to hear me? Am I presenting the material in such a way that all of my learners can gain understanding of the concepts I am teaching?
In order to be an effective teacher, one must understand that people learn in many different ways and presenting material in a variety of formats will have a greater impact on a group of students. Some people are shy and may sit in the back of the room therefore it is helpful to walk through the class and "check in" on them and get them involved. Some learners respond to instruction better when it is presented visually rather than in a lecture format. Many of my own personal concerns about whether or not I will be an effective teacher can be solved by taking into consideration how people learn and the various personality types involved in a group (including both teachers and students). I have taken two tests - one, a learning style inventory that explains how I learn and the other a personality test that tells me more about how I think and feel as a person. The results of these two tests have been quite revealing and, as a result, I have gained greater insight into how others learn.
The first test I took was a learning styles test provided online by North Carolina State University that measures various learning traits on four different scales - Active vs. Reflective Learners, Sensing vs. Intuitive Learners, Visual vs. Verbal Learners, and Sequential vs. Global Learners. The test took only a few minutes and asked me questions about how I prefer to learn. I was not surprised by the results. According to the test results, I am definitely more of a reflective learner than an active one and I fall in the middle of the scale for the remaining three categories. What this tells me is that I adapt pretty well to various formats of instruction. For example, I learn well when an instructor presents a concept and fills in the details later and I learn equally well when an instructor gives me all the facts at once and presents the big picture at the end. I don't mind charts and graphs nor do I mind explanations written entirely in text. So, it doesn't seem to matter to me how the material is presented but rather how I think about it afterwards. According to the results of this test, I am more of a reflective learner than an active one therefore I prefer to work and study alone and ruminate on what has been presented to me. I tend to take lots of notes on course material but re-write it in a way that makes more sense to me. This takes extra time, sure, but it allows me to think about concepts and how they relate to past experiences of things I have learned in other classes. Group work is never something that I have enjoyed because it is difficult for me to think about how information makes sense to others and is much easier to think about how it makes sense to me. Although group work is uncomfortable for me, I have to realize that there are learners who are more active and thrive in this kind of learning environment. As an instructor, I have to step outside of my comfort zone and make sure to include hands-on and group work in my curriculum to appeal to those learners and not just avoid it because it makes me uneasy.
The second test was a Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test that revealed what I have already known about myself - that I am highly introverted! The results of this test nearly mirrored the results of the learning style test. I am an ISFJ which means I have a strong (89%!) preference of introversion over extroversion, I have slight preferences of sensing and judging over intuition and perceiving, and a moderate preference of feeling over thinking. This is not news to me. I often prefer to stay at home with my cats and a book rather than go out with friends. Crowds are pretty scary for me and it is not unusual for me to let emotions rule my life to some degree. Remember all those worries I expressed in that first paragraph? Yeah, those are an introvert's feelings and emotions in action! What this test tells me is that I need to build skills that will give me confidence in social situations, most especially in the classroom. I need to stop worrying about whether or not my students are judging me as an ineffective instructor and instead be confident in the knowledge that I can pass on to others. Although the results of this test were not surprising, it was a bit of a wake up call. Because I am so introverted, I probably have to work harder than most to gain confidence in front of a classroom full of students. If my students sense that I am not confident, they will not trust that the material I am presenting to them is accurate.
It's important for instructors to do some kind of self-assessment in order to gain an appreciation for the different learning styles and preferences of their students. Without doing so, instructors may fall into a dangerous pattern of only teaching the way they themselves prefer to be taught, of not having the confidence to relate what they know to others, and to fail to recognize some of the struggles their students may be experiencing in the learning process. Take these tests yourself and see how you can improve your teaching style!
Learning Styles Test - http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html
Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test - http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm
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