Teaching to Your Child's
Personality Type
 

Teaching the Introvert
Typically an introverted/intuitive person enjoys reading, thinking, and exemplifies Intrapersonal Intelligence. If you child is an introvert, he

Needs time alone to think and make sense of ideas
Wants quiet for concentration
Needs time to write and reflect before answering a question
Loves a quiet place to go
Needs to understand before experiencing
Can often work for a long period of time without reassurance
Reflects on facts/ideas to make meaning of them



Teaching the Extravert
An extraverted learner may show signs of Interpersonal Intelligence. This child usually enjoys learning with someone else instead of working alone. She’ll

Need to talk in order to understand
Prefer to jump right in and learn by trial and error
Want action and hands-on experiences
Like having people around while working
Likely ask for reassurance that what she’s working on is “good” or “right”
Need opportunities to talk and make noise
Understand by experiencing
Learn by explaining
Enjoy group work


Teaching the Sensor
Sensors in general are oriented to detail learning and may easily recall facts and dates. Your sensing child

Needs hands-on experience – cooking, fixing
May prefer nonfiction reading, especially history
Prefers “no time limit” in testing situations
Likes to experience/observe with senses
Needs time to take in what the teacher is saying
Doesn’t like to skim passages, but wants to get all the details
Wants expectations spelled out
Wants time to take in the facts
Likes traditional ways of solving problems
Trusts facts
Wants to be able to apply learning to real life



Teaching the Intuitive

Intuitives are creative and sometimes absent minded because of all the ideas circulating in their brains. Your intuitive child

Needs time to use imagination
Wants to create
Likes to think of new ideas (ideas=person, so please be cautious about criticizing an idea, no matter how unusual)
Craves inspiration
Likes to invent
Wants lots of books
Loves solving new problems
Trusts his hunches
Likes making patterns and connections
Wonders “why

 

Teaching the Thinker
Thinkers love organizing information in a logical way. They may be gifted in logical/mathematical intelligence. Your thinking child

Needs opportunities to analyze
Likes handling impersonal things
Can make tough decisions
Wants reasons
Needs objectivity
Doesn’t need harmony
Wants to achieve and learn as much as possible
Wants to master a topic
Needs exposure to technical and mechanical opportunities
May not like to be touched frequently
Needs opportunities to debate
Needs clear goals

Parents may feel their thinking child is argumentative –Ts do like having the last word. It may be helpful to go for the logic when discussing a matter with the thinker. Ask, “How are you viewing this problem? Can we look at it from a different viewpoint?”

Teaching the Feeler
A child with a preference for feeling wants appreciation and loves being helpful. He/she
Needs harmony
Wants friendships
Is people-oriented/naturally friendly
Needs a positive learning environment with encouragement
Likes service projects

Teaching the Judging Child
A judging child likes accomplishment and completion. This child may enjoy workbooks. He prefers
Handouts
Schedules
Planning and preparing ahead of time
Getting work done first before playing
A predictable structure
Deadlines
A sense of closure about a topic
Knowing ahead of time how he’ll be evaluated


Teaching the Perceiving Child
A perceiving child needs novelty and change. The same old schedule day in and day out is apt to leave her bored and frustrated. This child
Needs variety
Wants to have a choice in learning
Is curious
Needs to be flexible and spontaneous
Investigates
Wonders
Collects info
Wants to keep open-minded
Likes starting new things
Needs room to move around
Prefers to have some say in when an assignment will be completed


More on Personality Type and Learning here.