Student H

H is a teenage girl I have been tutoring for a while. I assumed she was an introvert type simply because she was different from me.

 "I think I am an extraversion, intuition, thinking, judgment type. I tend to stay with large crowd but I love concepts and ideas more than actions. Behavior-wise though I am most likely seen as an extravert. " (Peer Interaction)

Since I thought she was an introvert, I also automatically assumed that she was a reflection/thinking type because I over-generalized all of them. Making matter worse, I chose the method of learning I learned the best for her, not the one that would work best for her. At the time I wrote:

" I think she definitely is a reflection type but I end up with action type by 7 points. I would suggest that the environment may be playing a big role in it."(LOG 2)

I chose to present these pieces because I thought they remind me that I should be humble. I wrote "the best thing I know is I know close to nothing" and the next thing I did I kicked Type Theory out of my potential repertoire because I "knew" they would never work. It may be true that theories must be closely examined before they are put in use, but I had not closely examined it. If I were already a teacher I would have lost my creditibility because I do not know my craft. Type theory is a tool I learn to use if the situation arises and I should not just ignore it.

Putting Type Theory into work, I asked her to give me the 4 letters type preference using figure 2 on A Teacher's Guide to Cognitive Type Theory and Learning Style.
The simple test yielded INFP. According to her type preference, I made the following change to the class:

-- No more grammar exercises in 30 minutes (from a typical J type teacher)
-- More time allowed for thinking and experimenting by herself (I as a J type likes to give constant comments on her work. Now I seize doing so knowing that she is an IP that needs free, solo time)
-- I start every class by a "how are you doing lately?" instead of "have you finish the homework I assigned you last week". (build a personal relationship with the F type learner in her)
-- refrain from disturbing her when she is daydreaming a bit (IP learner may benefit from some "birdwatching")

Although I cannot say for sure if she is learning more effectively or not, since the changes were made she has been looking happier. So far, taking the stress away without apparently hampering her learning definitely looks like an improvement to my classroom. I wish I have started to at least try out the "new tools" earlier, and I have come to wonder how I can prevent my arrogance from hurting me and my students again.