Motivating and Mentoring Introverted Thinkers

In Thomas Armstrong’s book, In Their Own Way, his first chapter is all about what a shame it is that so many children are “unique learner[s] whose gifts, talents, and abilities [are] ignored by the schools…Every year, millions of children across the nation are being labeled as ADD or ADHD, learning disabled, dyslexic, or simply as underachievers. Millions more seem to be making satisfactory academic progress but are secretly dying inside because their true gifts and abilities are not being drawn out by the schools.” While his book was looking at this challenge through the lens of multiple intelligences, part of what this series aims to do is to show how kids’ innate dispositions often put them in the same predicament. When we honor and embrace our students’ innate talents in the classroom, they begin to also revere the unique gifts that they bring to the world.

Donna Dunning calls Introverted Thinkers (ITPs) “Analyzers,” which is a spot-on, one-word description of this personality type. “When presented with a learning problem or task, Analyzers think about the situation by collecting information, asking themselves questions, and looking for logical reasons behind events and actions (Dunning 2008).”

Instruction Content 

If you’ve got a predominantly introverted-thinking class, try to weave problem-based learning into your curriculum as much as possible. Problem-based learning keys into several ITP strengths: critically (and precisely) thinking about objective data and immersing themselves in in-depth material. It also provides the challenge and variety upon which ITPs thrive. Finally, it helps build skills related to thinking interdependently and communicating insights to their peers with clarity.

Introverted Thinkers are particularly interested in deconstructing both concrete objects and abstract ideas to find out how they work. They relish looking at all the distinct parts in order to find out if there’s a way to fix problems or optimize systems, and will often be the first ones to find the inconsistencies. Experiential science or math lessons that allow students to discover how the whole became the sum of its parts will be a hit with these kids.

These scholars, in particular, tend to take the emotion out of equations. As such, tasks that incorporate an abundance or rational and objective data will come easily to ITPs. For more subjective or people-oriented assignments; however, they will require more analogies or historical similarities to create a scaffold for understanding—it won’t come as naturally.

Process and Techniques

“The cognitive process of Introverted Thinking involves having internal frameworks, models, or blueprints to check things against and techniques and approaches for fixing them (Berens 1999).” Connecting new learning to similar problems or assignments will help them quickly overlay a past framework on the new understanding and will help them understand what’s being taught more rapidly. You will also find that these pupils will be particularly adept at pointing out the ways in which the two models differ and will be more engaged with your instruction.

Of all the types, Introverted Thinkers tend to be the learners that work best autonomously. If you’ve got a predominantly introverted-thinking class, be sure to weight independent study more heavily than project teams. Flipping your classroom will work particularly well, as it will give your introverted thinkers ample opportunity to review and dissect the assignment before coming together to discuss their ideas and insights. (Classroom flipping is a recommended tactic for all predominantly introverted classes, as it allows your learners to reflect prior to discussion—the natural learning progression for introverts.)

Introverted-thinking kids tend to be the ones that have the toughest time with interpersonal relationships. “Both the working life and the personal life of the introverted thinkers will go better if you [teach them to] take the trouble to do two simple things: Say an appreciative word when praise is honestly due, and mention the points on which they agree with another person before they bring up the points on which they disagree (Myers & Myers 1995).”

When putting together project teams, your ITP pupils will contribute most effectively to groups that need a subject matter expert where the introverted thinker can act as a resource. They also do best in groups that have well-defined roles and rules, where they can work to ensure that both are honored (Hirsh, Hirsh & Hirsh 2003).

Work Product

The introverted thinkers in your class each year will excel at organizing facts and ideas, but may struggle more when it comes to making their ideas understood by others. “Wanting to state exact truth, they tend to state it in a way too complicated for most people to follow (Lawrence 1993).” If you can coach them to distill their ideas down to simple statements, this ability will serve them well from the classroom to the board room.

Teach your introverted thinkers, as well as your other perceivers, to use a project tree for essays or assignments. In a project tree, the trunk is the topic, branches are the subtopics, post-it notes form the “leaves” on each branch. This will ensure that you work with these kids’ natural tendency to stay open to possibilities as long as possible, while ensuring that they get their flashes of insight into a memorable and organized place as quickly as possible. This technique also works well for Extraverted Intuitives, Extraverted Sensors, and Introverted Feelers (Lilienstein 2012).

Introverted Thinkers are naturally self-critical and will be their own toughest critic when it comes to the quality of work product. Because of this, they may turn a deaf ear on external feedback unless they respect the expertise of the person evaluating their assignments. In order to gain their respect, be as specific and objective as possible when correcting tests or homework about where things went wrong—or right. Generalized or subjective feedback will not score points with these learners.

Free Personality Type Screening Tool

Determine the personality types of your individual learners and class as a whole as early as possible during the school year here.

Lesson Planet Resources That Would Intrigue Introverted Thinkers:

Creating Story Problems by Looking at Train Routes

Third graders create multiplication word problems to develop a better understanding of operations. They begin by looking at a map of the US from when the railroads began. They make up multiplication word problems based on railroad miles. Groups of three produce problems for the rest of the class to solve. This math lesson is also a great tie-in with social studies and transportation.

Investigating the Climate System – Clouds

An in-depth lesson on Earth’s radiant energy system for upper-elementary scholars. Learners model and explain cloud formation, calculate incoming and outgoing radiation, identify aerosols in the earth's atmosphere, and make climate predictions. Plan includes activities, worksheets, lab sheets, quizzes, rubrics, and assessments.

Secrets of the Mummies

How did the ancient people of Egypt preserve their dead so well that their bodies are still recognizable today? Learn the painstakingly complex process they used for preservation. Young scholars read and summarize a narrative detailing ancient techniques for preservation of the dead, taking notes and drawing inferences and conclusions from the reading.

How Fast Are You?

Pupils explore the strategies that enable them to learn material faster. To discover their reaction time, learners test their hearing and seeing abilities in an online game.  They also complete worksheets related to their reaction time.

Twice Upon A Time – Multicultural Cinderellas

Pupils read, compare, and contrast various Cinderella stories from different cultures around the world. Scholars learn that plot element can seem different, but serve the same purpose. They also gain insight into how different cultures are unique.

References        

Armstrong, Thomas. 2000. "In Their Own Way."

Berens, Linda. 1999. “Dynamics of Personality Type.”

Dunning, Donna. 2008. “Introduction to Type and Learning.”

Hirsh, Elizabeth, Hirsh, Katherine W., and Hirsh, Sandra Krebs. 2003. “Introduction to Type and Teams.”

Lawrence, Gordon. 1993. “People Type and Tiger Stripes.”

Lilienstein, Jen. 2012. “A Parent’s Playbook for Learning.”

Myers, Isabel Briggs, and Myers, Peter. 1995. “Gifts Differing.”