Using Personality Type to Identify Learning Preferences in KS5

Using personality type to identify learning preferences in KS5 students Karen Lloyd, Subject Leader Social Sciences

pressure to participate in group work, and verbal activities such as presentations and whole class questioning.

The current Ofsted framework makes reference to active participation of all learners. This in turn has dictated the lesson observation paperwork that our school has adopted. This approach makes it implicit that all learners must be engaged in all activities.

This does not allow flexibility for learners, in the way that they may want to learn.

Introduction As a Subject Leader of a non-facilitating subject area, the demographics of my students can be different from a range of other A Level subjects within the school. My students have an average GCSE point score of 49.76 which ranges from 41.83 to 57.48 in my Year 13 cohort and 43.71 to 56.80 in the Year 12 cohort. This compares unfavourably with some of the facilitating subjects who have an average GCSE point score on entry which is much higher eg Maths 56.39, Biology 53.07, Chemistry 53.92 and History 52.59.

During the last four years our strategies for raising attainment have centred on AFL and differentiation. We have proven strategies that work; so differentiation by task, by outcome, by learning style and questioning. It is a change in teacher in the department that has led me to investigate one of the other interesting dynamics of classroom teaching; the role of personality type in learning.

I had always wondered how some “quiet� pupils in my classroom felt about the constant

Each year I am approached by a student who has confidence issues when it comes to group presentations and reading aloud. Whilst I deal with these requests sensitively, I also consider it part of my role to help them overcome these confidence issues. I had never examined the impact that this approach may have on students’ feelings and also their learning enjoyment.

It is not until recently watching a TED lecture on the role of introversion and extroversion that I began to consider the ways in which introvert and extrovert pupils respond in the learning environment and the impact that this may have on their success in the educational setting.

When analysing the results of the most recent January modules - our department achieved 8 A* grades - 75% of this group were introverts and at the extreme end of the spectrum.

Eysenck believes that there is a biological basis to our personality type and explains it in terms of the type of nervous system we inherit. Depending on the degree of excitation and inhibition that the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) allows, this controls our alertness or arousal. In an extrovert their cortex is under aroused and therefore they look to the outside world for sensory

stimulation, whereas an introvert is the opposite. The arousal in their cortex is high and therefore they do not seek out stimulation from the outside.

It would therefore make sense that different personality types, based on their brain functionality, would actually need to be treated very differently in the classroom. The idea of encouraging or forcing students to work in a way opposite to their own biology does not seem to make logical sense.

I therefore decided to research this question after firstly sorting my cohort into personality types.

Findings The amount of introverts in the cohort was higher than would be found in a normal distribution. In the population this is usually about 40%. In our cohort this was nearer to 50/50. There was a variance between the classes with some classes having 80% introverts.

The extreme end of the introversion spectrum actually achieved very well, all achieving A and A* grades. The extreme introverts all achieved within the top 10% of our cohort.

We then examined the types of learning activity that the personality types enjoyed to see if there was a marked difference in the preferences by personality type.

The overwhelming response to this was that all students whether extrovert or introvert preferred to listen to the teacher. They liked the teacher to present and explain an idea and then have their own time to assimilate the learning, by taking notes. Once this had been completed they enjoyed applying this to exam questions. Some of the comments in focus groups were that the classroom environment was not conducive to learning as they needed quiet time on their own to go through things.

The least useful activity for learning was agreed upon by both personality types; group work where they had to learn from others was very strongly disliked by all.

Recommendations 

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Below are some of the questions:

Q1. What activities do you find most

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useful to your learning and why?  

All personality types liked to use exam questions in nearly all lessons as a focus to learning.

Before a group activity, give all pupils thinking time to improve the group dialogue.

When working in groups, smaller is better, pairs first.

Have an effective work partner, often of similar personality type.

Extroverts struggle more than introverts with the move to independent study; they need more help.