Learning Styles: Introversion ~ Extraversion
In Learning in Style, I promised a series detailing the four style pairs of Isabel Meyers-Briggs. Of course the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Seriously, most of us are a glorious mix of both halves within a pair. However, when a person is heavily weighted toward one side of a pair, that can get in the way of success.
Molly is an Introvert
Molly works independently. She may appear secretive, uncooperative, indifferent, or as if she isn’t paying attention when she is actually just thinking.
Molly considers things carefully before she acts. She may consider something so long that she misses out on opportunities.
Molly may not respond well to group learning situations. She needs quiet reflective time to synthesize. She may become upset if she is interrupted.
Molly attends to every detail. She is very precise and doesn’t often generalize
Tricia is an Extravert
Tricia is open, forthcoming during lessons and well understood by others.
Tricia prefers doing! Because she prefers action over consideration she may act impulsively.
Tricia is at her best when working with others. She needs people around her to actively discuss and consider ideas.
Tricia needs change and variety. She may be impatient with routine, or monotonous tasks
Tricia may have difficulty following detailed directions. She may skip steps or work on assignment in a “hodge podge” fashion
Because Molly finds energy in ideas – she needs to be able to relate one idea to another. To be successful Molly needs materials that will help her to interconnect melodic, harmonic and rhythmic patterns. When presenting something new, don’t necessarily expect that “aha” moment right away. As an introvert, Molly needs lots of quiet time to think and make connections. The “aha” is just as likely to occur a few days after the lesson. Molly may benefit from a slower paced lesson, structured so that there is some time for reflection. Molly’s former teacher misunderstood her need for time to think and make connections and made the mistake of assuming that Molly just wasn’t very bright or quick and began over explaining and simplifying material. Being quite bright, Molly made the connection that her teacher “thought she was dumb” and quit trying all together.
Tricia finds her energy from the tangible world and is at her best when working (often noisily) with other people. Tricia may not realize that she doesn’t know something until she attempts to explain it to someone else. If we think about how this might relate to the piano lesson it would follow that extroverts like Tricia would need many opportunities both to explain new concepts and to try out performances in front of you, the teacher, and small non-threatening groups of peers. Last year Tricia’s former teacher observed how at ease Tricia was with others and made the mistake of assuming that performance would be no problem for her. Tricia thought she was ready but found to her humiliation that she did not know her piece as perfectly as she believed. Extroverts like Tricia need many opportunities to receive feedback. They may benefit from the chance to create their own frameworks for goals and/or rubrics for self or peer evaluation. Certainly, they will not respond well to expectations of attaining perfection from a single session with a teacher followed by a week of working alone on a lesson.
Both Introverts and Extraverts can benefit from group work (chamber music, duet work, digital ensembles, theory or history projects). Activities that include observing others (studio classes, field trips) and designing tools for other students to use (activity sheets, sight reading, technical exercises, rubrics) are a vital part of the interaction that an extrovert needs. The introvert has a great need for privacy when demonstrating their work (performing, technical skill checks, discussions) and often benefits from work with a partner or small group away from the lesson setting before being required to share a finished project with a larger group. The introvert needs to know what is going to be required, when, and what the format will be for every situation. It is very important to safeguard the introvert’s need for focus and reflective time and the extrovert’s need for variety and free discussion.
Consider your own tendencies toward introversion/extraversion. Do you feel these two characteristics are fairly balanced within you? Do you find you have a marked inclination toward one or the other? How do you think this affects your own practicing and learning? How might this have affected your success with the students you listed above?
Consider students you have known who fit the characteristics of introvert/extravert. What strategies were effective with these students? What strategies would you like to try now?
