Homeschooling: Determining Each Child's Learning Style
One of the great things about us humans is that each of us has a unique personality. One of the hard things about educating humans is that each person has a unique personality; a person's personality has a huge impact on how that person learns most effectively.One of the best things about homeschooling is that you can tailor your homeschool program to match the individual personalities of your students. This is quite a contrast to an institutional school in which everyone in a class is taught with exactly the same methods and materials. For the kids who happen to be best taught with the institutional approach, this is fine. For those who would learn better in a different way, well, they just have to do the best they can.
Before you open your school for learning, you should take some time to understand each of your student's basic personality traits so that you can choose the kind of materials and teaching methods you should use to reach her most effectively.
Note:
The information in this section is based on the Myers-Briggs personality typing system in which I am a firm believer. This system is amazingly useful to both understand our own personality type and to understand the personalities of people with whom we interact. There are many sources of detailed information about Myers-Briggs personality types. One of my favorites is the book Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates.
When dealing with personality types and preferences, people naturally think of their own types as "good" and other types as "less good." However, the purpose of personality types is not to judge or grade specific individuals, but to understand ourselves and other people better so that we can relate to one another more effectively. Or in this case, to be able to understand and teach people, namely your children, more effectively.
Understanding the Basic Types of Personality That Impact Learning Styles
Explaining the complexities of personality types and learning styles would require a book of its own; in this brief section, I can only provide a very basic level of information on this somewhat complex topic. The good news is that you don't need to understand all the complexities involved to be able to adjust your homeschool program to the specific personality types of your children. That's because peoples' personalities can be well categorized by four general personality-type scales. When you understand where your child's personality fits on each of these scales, you will be well equipped to tailor your teaching materials and methods to that child's personality.
In the Myers-Briggs scheme, there are four basic elements of personality preferences. Each of these preferences is measured on a scale that has two "sides." Knowing where a person's tendency resides on each of these scales determines the person's overall personality type.
More on Personality Preferences
Notice I use the word "preference" when talking about personality types. That's because each of us has a behavior preference that is driven by our personality type. However, because we humans are so flexible and adaptable, we sometimes don't act in accordance with our own personality preferences. For example, someone who has a strong preference for introversion might realize that participating in a large social event is important for some reason and do so even though it wouldn't be tops on their list of fun things to do.
In some cases, such as institutional schools, people are taught that there are "good" and "bad" ways of learning or behaving to get rewarded. If the "good" way goes against a person's personality preferences, that person will sometimes learn to mimic the expected behavior in order to get the desired reward. Because of this, you can accurately assess someone's personality types based on one or two actions. You need to be able to either observe a person over a long period of time or use a personality test to accurately understand an individual's preferences.
Introversion Versus Extroversion
The first scale is the preference to be introverted or extroverted. Contrary to what most people think, this isn't really indicated by the amount a person talks or how "sociable" a person is. The real concept is whether the main source of a person's energy comes from within or from without themselves.
An extroverted person gains energy from external sources, such as people and other environmental stimulation. For example, an extroverted person becomes invigorated when he or she is around other people. The more extroverted a person is, the more external energy is sought. This is why extroversion is usually associated with people who talk a lot or who are the life of a party. Put an extraverted person in a roomful of people and he will naturally seek out energy from those people by interacting with them. Basically, extroverted people's focus is outside themselves because that is where their energy comes from. Put an extroverted person in a room by herself, and she will actually lose energy because of the lack of external stimulation. Put her in a room with a few other people and she will regain her normal energy level. A stereotypical example of an extroverted person is the politician or salesman who meets and greets everyone with whom they come into contact.
An introverted person gains energy from their internal world. Put an introverted person in a crowded room and that person will start losing energy. This doesn't mean that an introverted person will be unsociable, it just means that an introvert will have to expend energy to interact with other people. After a while, the introvert will get tired and will need to recharge his energy from his internal world. This is most easily done by being alone, which is why extremely introverted people tend to be viewed as loners. It isn't really that an introvert doesn't like or need to have relationships with other people, which we all need. It is just that being around people is draining to an introvert and they need to recharge by being alone frequently. A stereotypical example of an extreme introvert would be a bookworm who prefers reading to talking.
Sensing Versus Intuiting
The next scale measures the preference for sensing versus intuition.
The person who has a preference toward sensing is more focused on facts, such as those gained from direct observation using the senses (thus, the term "sensing"). Sensing people like things that "make sense" and are usually oriented more toward action than thought. A sensing person will assess his environment based on what can be seen, felt, and understood at the time. A sensing person tends to prefer that things are more direct, straightforward, and "to the point." Sensing people tend to prefer things in a linear fashion, such as stories in a straight narrative form. Sensing people tend to be focused on the here and now. As an example, a sensing person prefers a story that has a definite start, is at least somewhat grounded in reality, and has a definite end. An ultimate example of a sensing person would be the detective Sergeant Friday on the TV show Dragnet, whose famous line was "Just the facts, mam."
The person who has a preference toward intuition is more focused on thoughts and patterns than on specific facts about their environment. An intuitive person prefers to identify a pattern from which they can predict their environment rather than assessing the environment through their senses. Intuitive people make decisions based on their thoughts/intuitions about a situation as much as or more than whatever facts happen to be at hand at the moment. Intuitive people tend to be focused on the future. In contrast to a sensing person, an intuitive person tends to prefer a story that is complex and has fantastic elements to it. An example of an intuitive would be the character Gandalf of The Lord of the Rings who identified patterns from the occurrences around him.
Thinking Versus Feeling
This scale measures the preference of a person toward thinking or feeling.
A person with a thinking preference prefers things that are logical, rational, and that can be supported with valid arguments. A person with a strong thinking preference tends to make decisions based on logical arguments rather than how such decisions impact themselves or other people. People with a strong thinking preference can appear to be cold or indifferent because they are guided by logic and reason. An ultimate example of a thinking personality would be the character Spock on Star Trek who was totally devoted to logic and rejected all emotion.
A person with a preference toward feeling, on the other hand, prefers things that result in positive impacts on people; positive impacts are measured in terms of how something makes people feel. Because people with feeling preferences tend to be aware of and responsive to other people's emotions, they can be both pleasant to be around (because they are natural people pleasers) and very inspirational leaders. For example, the character of William Wallace in the movie Braveheart clearly had feeling preferences (his motivation was all about freedom for the people of Scotland).
Judging Versus Perceiving
The fourth preference is judging versus perceiving.
A person with a judging preference is one who likes things to be finished, a problem to be solved, a decision to be made, and so on. The judging preference leads people to want things closed, finished, and completed. People with a strong judging preference are more interested in the end than the journey. A businessman who is totally focused on the "bottom line" would likely have a strong judging preference.
A person with a perceiving preference is one who is more interested in the journey than the destination. They don't need to have things closed out or finished but are fine to continue a process until it no longer is interesting. The classic example of a person with a perceiving preference is an absent-minded professor who becomes totally enthralled in contemplating a problem without regard to any deadlines or other incentives to actually get it solved.
Putting the Preferences Together
In formal personality typing, the four preference scales are measured and a letter representing each option is assigned to a person. The following abbreviations are commonly used:
- Introversion versus Extroversion. A person with a preference for introversion is given an "I" while an extrovert receives an "E."
- Intuition versus Sensing. An intuitive person receives an "N" (the I is already designated for Introvert) while a sensing person receives an "S."
- Thinking versus Feeling. I bet you can guess this one: A person with a thinking preference receives a "T" while a feeling person receives an "F."
- Judging versus Perceiving. People who want to close things out get a "J" while those who just enjoy the journey get a "P."
In addition to the four letters, each type can also be labeled with a general description. For example, an INTJ is called a "mastermind" or "wizard"; an ESFP is called a "performer," and so on. You will see some examples of famous people and their personality types. See if you can reconcile what you know about these people with the descriptions of the types I provided previously.
Famous People and Their Personality Types
| ISTJ-Inspector | |
| Harry Truman | |
| Queen Elizabeth | INTJ-Mastermind |
| Dwight Eisenhower | |
| Thomas Jefferson | ESTJ-Supervisor |
| Lyndon Johnson | |
| Elliot Ness | ENTJ-Field Marshall |
| Bill Gates | |
| Margaret Thatcher | |
| ISFJ-Protector | |
| Jimmy Stewart | |
| Mother Teresa | INFJ-Counselor |
| Mohandas Gandhi | |
| Tom Selleck | ESFJ-Provider |
| George Washington | |
| Terry Bradshaw | ENFJ-Teacher |
| Abraham Lincoln | |
| Payton Manning | |
| ISFP-Composer | |
| Johnny Carson | |
| Barbra Streisand | INFP-Seeker |
| William Shakespeare | |
| James Harriot | ESFP-Performer |
| Bob Hope | |
| Elvis Presley | ENFP-Journalist |
| Paul Harvey | |
| Bill Cosby | |
| ISTP-Crafter | |
| Clint Eastwood | |
| Amelia Earhart | INTP-Scientist |
| Albert Einstein | |
| Carl Jung | ESTP-Promoter |
| Lucille Ball | |
| Chuck Yeager | ENTP-Inventor |
| Theodore Roosevelt | |
| Alfred Hitchcock |
Assessing a Child's Personality Preferences
To understand a child's personality preferences, you need to somehow assess your child in each of the scales. There are two primary ways to do this: observation or testing.
As you observe your children in everyday life, preferably without them knowing you are paying attention, you should be able to identify their preferences in the four personality characteristics by observing how they prefer to behave over time (again, this assessment needs to be based on a long period of observation, not just one or two choices). The following are some specific things to look for to help you assess your child's preferences on each scale:
- The I or E preference is the easiest to determine because it is based on an obvious behavior. If your child likes to spend fairly long periods of time alone or if not alone, at least not interacting with other people, he probably has a tendency toward introversion. If your child prefers to play with others and seldom plays alone (if others are available), she likely is an extrovert.
- The S or N preference is the most difficult to observe and you likely won't be able to make a clear distinction about this until the child is a bit older (for example, 5 or 6). One of the most prominent characteristics of N children is that they prefer stories with fantastic elements, such as fantasy or science fiction and want to repeat those stories over and over. A sensing child, on the other hand, is more likely to prefer a straightforward adventure story. Sensing children also prefer games while intuitive children can spend lots of time just thinking about something or daydreaming.
- The T or F preference is also relatively easy to distinguish. If your child is a "people pleaser" and likes to do things just because she thinks it will make you happy, she likely has an F preference. If a child is likely to ask for a reason to have to do something and prefers to have things explained, the child likely has a T preference. Children with an F preference are likely to be interested in how events affect people while a T child is likely to be interested in how and why the event occurred. For example, if you read a story about a tornado hitting a town, an F child would likely be interested in the impact on the people in the town, while the T child would more likely be interested in how and when the tornado hit and what caused the tornado.
- The J or P preference can also be determined fairly easily. If your child likes things to be finished, he tends toward J. If your child enjoys the process of something as much or more than the results, she is likely a J. For example, if your child is driven to complete a puzzle, a J preference would be indicated. If a child enjoys working on a puzzle, but doesn't particularly care if it ever gets finished, he is likely a P.
The results of such as test will determine both your child's personality type, such as ESFP, and the relative strength of his preference under each characteristic, such as how extroverted she is.
Judging Preferences
You can often get some idea about a child's personality preferences by observation. Following are some examples:
- Your child doesn't like to be alone. When everyone else leaves a room, the child immediately follows. Assuming the child isn't overly fearful of something, the child is likely an extrovert.
- Your child plays with other children for a while, but then will go off by himself to be alone (sometimes while playing his own game). The child is likely an introvert and needs alone time to recharge his batteries.
- Your child will start and enjoy puzzles, but gets distracted and seldom completes them. Likewise, the child starts a book, but stops in the middle and starts another one. This child likely has a perceiving preference.
- When you take your child somewhere, she likes to know where and when you are going. She also wants to know what is going to happen when you get there. This child likely has a judging preference.
- When you read your child stories about something bad happening to characters (real or not), your child is likely to become upset and worry about the characters. This child probably has a feeling preference. In contrast, if your child would rather understand how or why the bad things happened, the child probably has a thinking preference.
Understanding your children's personality preferences will go a long way toward making you an effective teacher, especially in regard to how you teach a specific child. Here are some examples that show you what I mean.
Suppose you have a child who is introverted. This should tell you that you need to provide plenty of time for that child to learn independently; you can expect a strongly introverted child to be fairly self-directed. On the other hand, if your child is extroverted, you should spend more time interacting with that child directly, as well as arranging additional interactions through activities outside your home with other people.
Now suppose your child has a preference for sensing. You should expect to communicate with that child using lots of visual and audio stimulation and activity. On the other hand, if your child is more intuitive, providing opportunities for them to exercise their active imaginations will be of great benefit.
The whole point of assessing a child's personality is that you can use that information to design your homeschool program so that it plays to your child's strengths, thereby maximizing learning potential. A little bit of thinking and work in this area will go a long way to making your homeschooling experience the best that it can be.
Reproduced from Absolute Beginner's Guide to Homeschooling, by Brad Miser, by permission of Pearson Education. Copyright © 2005 by Que Publishing. Please visit http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0789732777 to order your own copy.
