Judging from the traffic on my previous post dealing with the Murphy - Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children(R) assessment tool, there is a lot of interest throughout the world in using knowledge of personality type to improve the lives and educational outcomes of children. So I am happy to share another great book by school psychologist and former teacher Dr. Elizabeth Murphy who, together with Dr. Charles Meisgeier, is the co - author of the assessment which bears their names.
The top half of p. 6, for example, has the heading "Type - Descriptions - Extraversion and Introversion" which is then broken into sections on Extraverts and Introverts with five bullet points in each section. The bottom half of the page has the heading "Teaching Differences with Extraversion and Introversion". This in turn is broken into sections on Extraverted Teachers and Introverted Teachers, each with four bullet points. This chapter is valuable in helping teachers develop an awareness of their teaching styles, and the page layout makes it easy to contrast their styles with the needs of students who have the opposite preferences. For instance, while Dr. Murphy lists Extraverts as finding that talking helps thinking, and that they are energized by doing, she writes that Introverted teachers tend to value "quiet" classrooms. Obviously Introverted teachers will need to adjust their teaching styles to accommodate the needs of Extraverted students.
The next two chapters make up slightly less than half the book. Chapter 3 consists of a full - page description of the teaching style of each of the 16 personality types found in the Myers - Briggs Type Indicator assessment. Each page is divided into seven helpful sections, each with a small number of bullet points. Using ISTJ on p. 12 as an example, the pages are organized as follows:
ISTJ teachers enjoy students who...
ISTJ teachers are challenged by students who...
ISTJ teachers believe education should...
ISTJ teachers design lessons that...
ISTJ teachers are most excited about a school organization that...
ISTJ teachers are most tested by other teachers who...
ISTJ teachers are most effective when they...
Next we learn how personality type affects students. Chapter 4 devotes half a page, set up as a column, to each of the 16 types of students. Again using ISTJ as an example (p. 30), the top half of their column is labeled "When ISTJs use their preferred style they...", while the bottom half of the column says "ISTJ students find it more difficult to..." As in the section on teachers there are several bullet points under these headings. This chapter also contains a nice summary phrase to describe each type of student. ISTJ is called Practical Analyzer, ISFJs are Here and Now Helpers, INFJ is the Insightful Humanist, etc.
Finally in Chapter 5 Dr. Murphy begins to explain some very helpful applications of all this information. As she says on p. 39:
Once you have an understanding of type descriptions for teachers and students, the next step is to use that information to allow each type to feel valued and acknowledged while continuing to meet the educational goals of the classroom.
Dr. Murphy's final chapter is full of suggestions for using type concepts in the classroom. It begins with a short general discussion about how teachers can use their awareness of type and why it is helpful to do so. It almost goes without saying that usually the main goal for using type concepts in schools is to increase achievement and decrease discipline problems. Surely whole books could be written about the positive effects of using type concepts with students but here they are mentioned in only one sentence. As I said earlier though, other positive outcomes are scattered throughout the book. Chapter 6 then goes into detail, devoting a page to each type preference. She gives us "Recommendations for Working with Extraverted Students", "Recommendations for Working with Introverted Students", and so on. Each page contains 10 suggestions.
There is much wonderful food for thought in this chapter, and more importantly, for action. Many of these suggestions start with the phrases "Know that...", "Understand that..." and "Accept that..." Teachers making an effort to accept students as they are, even those with personality preferences opposite to theirs, and to understand their needs, will go a long way toward meeting these needs.
The Chemistry of Personality, available for $15 from www.capt.org, is an excellent book which I recommend to everyone. Although written for teachers its easily understandable explanations of type concepts and how to apply them would benefit anyone. The book is brief. But its impact on the educational achievement of students and on the job satisfaction of their teachers will be incomparable if we take the time to understand and implement its principles. So what are we waiting for?