Learning Styles and Personality Types http://www.wnc.edu/studentservices/counseling/styles_types/3_personali...

Learning Styles and Personality Types.

.
Personality Types and Learning
H ome
And Im plications in the Classroom
T he 1 6 P ers onality
T ypes Students have different learning s tyles ; they preferentially foc us on
different types of information, tend to operate on perc eived information in
Personalit y Types different ways , and ac hieve unders tanding at different rates . T he matc h
& Learning or mis matc h between the way that profes s ors teac h and the way that
s tudents learn has important ramific ations for levels of s tudent
T emperament
s atis fac tion in c ollege. Students whos e learning s tyles are c ompatible
1 . G uardians with the teac hing s tyles of a c ours e ins truc tor tend to retain information
2 . A rtis ans longer, apply it more effec tively, learn more, and have a more pos itive
attitude toward the c ours e and c ollege in general.
3 . I dealis ts
4 . Rationalis ts Students whos e learning s tyles are c ompatible with the teac hing s tyles
of a c ours e ins truc tor tend to retain information longer, apply it more
T emperament effec tively, learn more, and have a more pos itive attitude toward the
& T eac hing Styles c ours e and c ollege in general.

H ow to take the M BT I A s a s tudent, you will enc ounter different teac hing s tyles . A lthough you
c annot c hange your preferred s tyle of learning to matc h a teac hing s tyle,
you c an take s teps to ac tively inc reas e your ability to be s uc c es s ful in
WNC Home Page thes e c ours es .

T he res ults obtained from the M yers - Briggs T ype I ndic ator® (M BT I ) c an
help you unders tand how to be more s uc c es s ful in the c las s room and
beyond. T his M BT I explains pers onality types in greater depth, whic h
c an be us eful in developing s trategies for more effec tive s tudy, better
time management, s moother c ommunic ations , more s uc c es s ful
relations hips , s elec ting c ours es and majors , and developing our
les s - preferred ways of learning.

T he following overview of the pers onality traits of the eight types

developed by the M BT I c an help you unders tand the differenc es in eac h
type. I mplic ations in the c las s room and ideal c las s room environments
are pres ented.

The eight t raits f rom the MBTI are arranged in f our continuums or
pref erence scales:

E xtravert (E ) ...... I ntrovert (I )

Sens ing (S) ...... I ntuitive (N )
T hinking (T ) ...... Feeling (F)
P erc eiving (P ) ...... J udging (J )

There is no right or wrong to these preferences - each

identifies norm al hum an behav iors and
characteristics.

Extravert - Introvert (E-I)

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T his s c ale explains where people tend to foc us their attention and get
their energy.

Ext ravert s (E ) tend to foc us on the outer world of people, things , and
ac tivity and are energized by interac tion with others . T hey love to talk,
partic ipate, organize, and s oc ialize. T hey are people of ac tion and
therefore c an be impatient with s low, tedious jobs and c omplic ated
proc edures . T hey prefer to figure out things while they are talking.

E xtraverted T ypes (E s ) and L earning: E xtraverted types learn bes t by

talking and phys ic ally engaging the environment. T alking helps their
thoughts to form and bec ome c lear. T heir attention will naturally flow
towards external things and events .

E xtraverted T ypes in the C las s room: E xtraverted s tudents work bes t in

c las s rooms that allow time for dis c us s ion, talking and/or working with a
group. Sinc e they are ac tion oriented, E s do well with ac tivities involving
s ome type of phys ic al ac tivity. A s they are pulled into s oc ial life, they
may find it diffic ult to s ettle down, read, or c onc entrate on homework.
T hey s ometimes find lis tening diffic ult and need to talk to work out their
ideas .

T hey will find many c ollege tas ks c hallenging (reading, res earc h, writing)
bec aus e they are s olitary endeavors . T hey tend to plunge into new
material, as their tendenc y is to ac t firs t and think later. T hey need to
work to avoid dis trac tions while s tudying. T hey do well s tudying with a
friend. E xtraverts will learn bes t if they s tudy as if they are preparing to
teac h s omeone els e.

I deal C las s room E nvironments For E xtraverts : E xtraverts thrive when

they are allowed time to think things through by talking, s uc h as in
c las s room dis c us s ions , or when working with another s tudent. T hey exc el
with learning ac tivities that have vis ible res ults and involve people
interac tion.

Int rovert s (I ) are energized by the inner world of reflec tion, thought, and
c ontemplation. T hey direc t their energy and attention inward and rec eive
energy from reflec ting on their thoughts , memories and feelings . T hey
c an be s oc iable but need s pac e and time alone to rec harge their
batteries . I ntroverts want to unders tand the world. T hey prefer to figure
out things before they talk about them.

I ntroverted T ypes (I s ) and L earning: I ntroverts learn bes t through quiet,

mental reflec tion. T heir attention will naturally flow inward to their own
thoughts , ideas and impres s ions .

I ntroverted T ypes in the C las s room: I ntroverted s tudents tend to enjoy

reading, lec tures , and written over oral work. T hey prefer to work
independently, do well at verbal reas oning, and need time for internal
proc es s ing. T hey enjoy lis tening to others talk about a topic while
privately proc es s ing the information. I ntroverts may enc ounter diffic ulty
with ins truc tors who s peak quic kly without allowing time for mental
proc es s ing. T hey are often unc omfortable in dis c us s ion groups , may find
it diffic ult to remember names , and hes itate to s peak up in c las s .

I deal C las s room E nvironments For I ntroverts : I ntroverts exc el when

they c an work independently with their own thoughts , through lis tening,
obs erving, reading, writing, and independent lab work. T hey need
s uffic ient time to c omplete their work and to think before ans wering a
ques tion. T hey need ins truc tors to allow a moment of s ilenc e, if
nec es s ary, for this thought proc es s and to proc es s their experienc es at

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their own pac e. T hey are more c omfortable if they are not required to
s peak in c las s but are allowed to voluntarily c ontribute.

Sensing-Intuitive (S-N)
T his s c ale s ugges ts how people take in information and ways that they
bec ome aware of things , people, events , or ideas . I t has the bigges t
impac t on how people learn.

Sensing (S) people rely heavily on their five s ens es to take in information.
T hey take in information that is real and tangible – what is ac tually
happening. T hey are obs ervant about the s pec ific s of what is going on
around them and are es pec ially attuned to prac tic al realities , and
therefore they are prac tic al and realis tic . T hey foc us on details and may
ignore the big pic ture. T hey tend to be literal in their words and would
rather do than think.

Sens ing T ypes (Ss ) in the C las s room: Sens ing types like c onc rete fac ts ,
organization, and s truc ture. T hey are good at memorization and are
relatively c onventional. T hey like to go s tep by s tep and are bes t at
tas ks that c all for c arefulnes s , obs erving s pec ific s , and have a prac tic al
interes t. T hey feel more c omfortable us ing s kills already learned than
learning new ones and bec ome eas ily frus trated and impatient with
c omplic ated s ituations .

Ss are oriented toward the pres ent, the c onc rete, and the here and now.
T hey unders tand ideas and theories through prac tic al applic ations . T hey
need to s tart with the familiar, s olid fac ts before they c an gradually move
toward abs trac t c onc epts and princ iples . Sens ing s tudents like outlines ,
c lear guidelines , and s pec ific s . T hey as k who, what, when, where?
Sens ing s tudents read the ques tion s everal times before ans wering it to
be c ertain they unders tand it. T hey might ignore the big pic ture and
overlook general meanings and implic ations . T hey often have diffic ulty
with theory.

I deal C las s room E nvironments For Sens ing T ypes : Sens ing types are
bes t with ins truc tion that allows them to us e their s ens es – to hear,
touc h and s ee what they are learning. T hey enjoy hands - on ac tivities ,
c omputer- as s is ted ins truc tions , materials that c an be handled, and
audio- vis ual materials , provided they are relevant. T hey may have
diffic ulty with ins truc tors who move through the material too quic kly or
jump around from thought to thought. T hey learn bes t when material is
tied in with “real life” s ituations . Sens ing types will learn eas ier if fac ts
and s kills pres ented have relevanc e to their pres ent lives . T hey want
teac hers to make it c lear exac tly what is expec ted out of them. T hey are
bes t able to c reate pos s ibilities if a foundation of fac ts and the c onc rete
is pres ented firs t.

Int uit ive (N ) people s eek out patterns and relations hips among the fac ts
they have gathered. T hey trus t their hunc hes and intuition and look for
the “big pic ture.” T heir foc us is on c onc eptual information. Sinc e they s ee
the big pic ture, they often ignore the details . T hey s trive to gras p
patterns and are attuned to s eeing new pos s ibilities . T heir foc us is on the
future. T hey would rather think than do.

I ntuitive T ypes (N s ) in the C las s room: I ntuitive types want to know the
theory before dec iding that fac ts are important, foc us ing on general
c onc epts more than details and prac tic al matters . T hey quic kly s ee
as s oc iations and meanings , relying more on ins ight than obs ervation.
T hey are c reative, innovative and work with burs ts of energy. T hey des ire

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only a general outline, and enjoy new material. T hey are bes t with tas ks
that appeal to their intellec tual interes ts and c all for gras ping general
c onc epts , s eeing relations hips , and us ing imagination. T hey c an
remember s pec ific s when they relate to a pattern.

N s will write their term paper and then finis h the required outline. T hey
will always as k "why" before anything els e. T hey want to c larify ideas and
theories before putting them into prac tic e. I ntuitive s tudents may not
read a tes t ques tion all the way through, s ometimes mis s ing a key part,
bec aus e they ac t on their hunc hes . O nc e they unders tand a c onc ept or
s kill, they may find c ontinued repetition or prac tic e boring. T hey might
bec ome frus trated with ins truc tors who pac e the material too s lowly for
them. T hey tend to antic ipate a s peaker’s words , whic h s ometimes
res ults in N s not really hearing what is being s aid.

I deal C las s room E nvironments for I ntuitive T ypes : I ntuitive s tudents

thrive when they have opportunities to be inventive and original and to
find ways to s olve problems . T hey want c hoic es in the ways they work out
their as s ignments . T hey do well with opportunities for s elf- ins truc tion,
both individually and with a group.

Thinking-Feeling (T-F)
T his s c ale explains the ways people evaluate and c ome to c onc lus ions
about information and how they make dec is ions .

Thinking (T ) people look at the logic al c ons equenc es of a c hoic e or

ac tion and dec ide on the bas is of logic , analys is , and reas on. T hey
c ritique and analyze to identify what’s wrong with s omething s o they c an
s olve the problem. T hey s trive to find a s tandard or princ iple that will
apply in s imilar s ituations . T hey follow their head rather than their heart,
value truth over tac t, and s ometimes appear blunt and unc aring about the
feelings of others . T s us ually have s trongly held princ iples , value
fairnes s over everything, and need purpos e.

T hinking (T s ) T ypes in the C las s room: T hinking types us e logic al

analys is to unders tand material. T hey analyze experienc es and material
to find logic al princ iples underlying them, and they analyze problems to
bring logic al order out of c onfus ion. T hey naturally c ritique things ,
making them good at problem s olving when they c an analyze to identify
what’s wrong with s omething. T hey foc us on tas ks and do bes t with
objec tive material to s tudy and enjoy going into depth. T hey s trive to get
a s ens e of mas tery over the material being s tudied. T hey may have
diffic ulty with ins truc tors who do not pres ent material in a logic al order.
T hey like c lear c ours e and topic objec tives that are prec is e and ac tion-
oriented. A c c urac y is important to T s .

I deal C las s room E nvironments for T hinking T ypes : T hinking s tudents

will unders tand bes t when material is pres ented in a logic al, orderly
fas hion. When dealing with the abs trac t, they need to have the logic in
the material pointed out. T hey enjoy ins truc tor and s tudent feedbac k that
s hows them their s pec ific , objec tive ac hievements . T hey expec t all
s tudents to be treated fairly and objec tively by ins truc tors , with res pec t.

Feeling (F) people, when making dec is ions , like to c ons ider what is
important to them and to others involved. A pprec iating and s upporting
others and looking for qualities to prais e energizes them. T hey s trive to
c reate harmony and treat eac h pers on as a unique individual. T hey
dec ide on the bas is of their feelings , pers onal likes and dis likes . T hey
want others to like them s o find it diffic ult to s ay no or dis agree with

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others . Fs need and value kindnes s and harmony and are dis tres s ed by
interpers onal fric tion. T hey feel rewarded when they c an help others .

Feeling T ypes (Fs ) in the C las s room: Feeling types look for a pers onal
c onnec tion in c las s room material, s eeking to relate ideas and c onc epts
to pers onal experienc es . T hey enjoy working in groups as long as
individual relations hips develop. T hey learn well by helping others and
res ponding to their needs , and they s tudy well with others . Fs do bes t
with topic s of s tudy they c are about and might have diffic ulty with topic s
that do not relate to people or relations hips . T hey need to develop a
pers onal rapport with the ins truc tor and rec eive feedbac k and
enc ouragement. T hey may have diffic ulty with ins truc tors who appear
impers onal or detac hed.

I deal C las s room E nvironments for Feeling T ypes : Feeling s tudents will
work harder when they have developed pers onal relations hips with their
ins truc tors and other s tudents . T hey need s pec ific , pos itive feedbac k
with c orrec tive ins truc tions from their ins truc tors , and they want
ins truc tors to als o s how apprec iation for s tudents . T hey unders tand bes t
when they c an s ee the relations hip of the material to people and/or
human values .

Judging-Perceiving (J-P)
T his range s ugges ts the type of life s tyle and work habits people prefer.

Judging (J ) people like to live in a planned, orderly way, s eeking to

regulate and manage their lives . T hey want to make dec is ions , c ome to
c los ure, and move on. T hey tend to be s truc tured and organized and like
to have things s ettled. G etting things done energizes them. T hey foc us
on c ompleting the tas k, only want to know the es s entials , and take ac tion
quic kly (s ometimes too quic kly).

J udging T ypes (J s ) in the C las s room: J udging types plan their work and
s tic k to the plan, often getting work done early. T hey do well with
formalized ins truc tion and defined tas ks . T hey meet deadlines , like
planning, and prefer to work on only one thing at a time. T hey avoid
las t- minute s tres s es and don’t work well under las t- minute pres s ure.
T hey dis like s urpris es and thrive on order. T hey want to know what they
are ac c ountable for and by what s tandards they will be graded. T hey treat
as s ignments s erious ly.

I deal C las s room E nvironments for J udging T ypes : J udging s tudents will
thrive with s truc ture, c lear ins truc tions and c ons is tenc y. A c lear,
detailed outline with s pec ific grading proc edures is des irable. T hey do
bes t with advanc ed plans without s urpris es . T hey expec t their
ins truc tors to follow their outlines and return as s ignments when they s ay
they will.

Perceiving (P ) types are s pontaneous and don't like to be boxed in by

deadlines or plans . T hey like to pos tpone ac tion and s eek more data,
gathering more information before making a dec is ion. D etailed plans and
final dec is ions feel c onfining to them; they prefer to s tay open to new
information and las t- minute options . T hey work at many things at onc e.
P s are flexible and often good in emergenc ies when plans are dis rupted.

P erc eiving (P s ) types in the c las s room: P erc eiving types s tart many
tas ks , want to know everything about eac h tas k, and often find it diffic ult
to c omplete them. T hey work in flexible ways , following impuls es . T hey
are s timulated by the new and different. T hey s tudy bes t when s urges of

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impuls ive energy c ome to them. T hey are good at informal problem
s olving and adept at managing aris ing problems . T heir bigges t problem is
proc ras tination. T hey may make a c alendar of things to do but often won’t
follow it. P s feel energized by las t- minute pres s ures and often do their
bes t work under pres s ure. T hey need to find novel ways to do routine
as s ignments to inc reas e their interes t. T hey thrive on s pontaneity and
don’t mind s urpris es . When c ompleting a lengthy as s ignment or projec t,
they will work bes t if they divide the work into s everal s ub- as s ignments .

I deal C las s room E nvironments for P erc eiving T ypes :

P erc eiving s tudents like s ome c hoic es in as pec ts of as s ignments . T hey
work bes t when they unders tand the reas ons for as s ignments and when
as s ignments make s ens e to them. T hey enjoy variety and s pontaneity.

Implications in the Classroom

U nders tanding your pers onality type, preferred ways of learning, and
ideal c las s room environment c an help you effec tively deal with
c las s room s ituations that don’t nec es s arily matc h your preferred s tyle.

Y ou are enc ouraged to talk with your ins truc tors to determine ways you
c an have your needs met and exc el in the c las s room at WN C . WN C
c ouns elors c an als o as s is t you with methods to improve your learning in
thes e s ituations . Further tips and s ugges tions c an be found by linking to
T emperament.

H ome | T he 1 6 P ers onality T ypes | Personality Types & Learning

T emperament | 1 . G uardians | 2 . A rtis ans | 3 . I dealis ts | 4 . Rationalis ts
T emperament & T eac hing Styles | H ow to take the M BT I

J uly, 2 0 0 1 D ianne H illiard

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