In introducing herself to her students, Lauren Pe帽a sometimes tells them that she can relate to Star Trek鈥檚 Dr. Spock.
If the fictional character took the popular personality test, he would probably be an , just like Pe帽a, a director of instructional technology and a Spanish teacher at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Oklahoma City.
For those not steeped in Myers-Briggs terminology, the 鈥淚鈥� in that acronym stands for Introvert, or a person who 鈥渞echarges their battery鈥� with some solid alone time, Pe帽a said during a virtual presentation at the International Society for Technology in Education鈥檚 annual conference June 26-29.
Introverts are often the quiet kids in the class, overshadowed by exuberant extroverts who recharge by spending time with others. To be effective, teachers need to understand that both types of students鈥攁nd the 鈥渁mbiverts鈥� somewhere in the middle鈥攈ave their own special strengths, Pe帽a said.
鈥淲e have our extroverted students, who we love, who we cannot get to shut up sometimes during our class discussion,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd then we have our introverted students who it鈥檚 like pulling teeth to get them to say anything. So how do we go from both ends of the spectrum?鈥�
Finding the right balance is tricky, Pe帽a acknowledged.
But teachers can look to technology鈥攁s well as some decidedly low-tech strategies鈥攆or help, she said.
Here are some of Pe帽a鈥檚 favorite ways to ensure she鈥檚 reaching the different personalities in her classroom, informed by author and lecturer Susan Cain鈥檚 best-selling book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can鈥檛 Stop Talking.
Use technology to help kids who would rather show engagement in a different way
Sure, teachers need to get a sense of their students鈥� progress. But sharing something aloud in class can be tough for introverts.
鈥淭hink of technology as a bridge rather than a crutch,鈥� Pe帽a said. 鈥淲e tend to say, 鈥榳ell, these kids now, they鈥檙e so anxious鈥欌�� and reliant on technology that they 鈥渃an鈥檛 even have a conversation with somebody, so I鈥檓 going to force them to. That doesn鈥檛 seem like the best way to get over a traumatic situation. It seems like another traumatic situation.鈥�
Instead, teachers should 鈥渆mbrace the fact that these students live online and know to how discuss things online,鈥� Pe帽a said, giving teachers a chance to find out what introverted students have learned 鈥渨ithout necessarily putting them at the center of attention.鈥�
Google Slides, for instance, has a 鈥渃ool鈥� feature called Q&A, Pe帽a said, which allows a teacher to pose a question kids can answer in writing. And two tools that allow students or entire classes to create a digital bulletin board鈥擯adlet and Jamboard鈥斺�渁re really good for our introverted students because it gives them an opportunity to speak up, sometimes anonymously,鈥� Pe帽a said.
The technology doesn鈥檛 have to be particularly complex, either. Teachers can look for opportunities for kids to live chat online during class. Lecture time is probably not the most appropriate moment for that since students could get distracted. But if kids are watching a movie based on a book they鈥檝e read in class, they can share their reactions on something as simple as a Google Doc.
鈥淢aybe they鈥檙e asking questions,鈥� Pe帽a said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e saying, 鈥榯hat鈥檚 not how it was in the book!鈥欌��
Give introverts time to process and remind extroverts when to let someone else share
There鈥檚 a lot of research describing introverted people as 鈥渆xtremely sensitive,鈥� Pe帽a said. Sometimes, just the noise in the classroom 鈥渋s enough to turn them off completely. We help with the sensitivity by allowing some time to think, by allowing some quiet in our day,鈥� she explained.
Since introverts like extra processing time, give students a heads up about what topics they鈥檒l be learning about in class the next day, or even provide discussion questions in advance. This strategy can benefit extroverts too, since they can 鈥済et their excitement out and then come to class prepared to say the things that need to be said, instead of just all the things.鈥�
Extroverts may need help structuring time in another way. When kids talk in pairs or small groups, set a timer so that extroverts realize, 鈥淚鈥檓 only allowed this much time to talk and then I need to ask my friends what they think,鈥� Pe帽a said.
If a student says they have anxiety, assume they are telling the truth
Anxiety, which has been on the rise during the pandemic, can present as introversion, Pe帽a said.
It鈥檚 true that some students may say they鈥檙e anxious in order to get more time on an assignment, or take a test another day, Pe帽a said. 鈥淲e know that our high schoolers [have] learned that anxiety is a word they can use to get out of doing schoolwork sometimes,鈥� she said. But 鈥渨e also have our students who are legitimately anxious and legitimately cannot get a doctor鈥檚 note saying so. So I would rather err on the side of being kind to kids.鈥�
Remember, introversion isn鈥檛 a problem to be dealt with
Pe帽a once taught at a school that encouraged teachers to use 鈥�Socratic seminars,鈥� a style of deep classroom discussion that requires spoken participation from each student.
One of her colleague鈥檚 shy son found those discussions very difficult. She shared this with his teacher, who told her 鈥溾�檛hat鈥檚 okay, we will fix that,鈥欌�� Pe帽a recalled. The mother was taken aback, she said.
鈥淚t just made her kind of sad,鈥� Pe帽a said. 鈥淪he felt like the teacher thought it was his job to fix her son. He鈥檚 not broken, just quiet. And that is a totally acceptable way to be.鈥�
