Amber Adgerson Professor Mathis EDUC 745 Personality Type Style Theory Paper July 13th, 2012 Personality

y Type In Chapter One of the book, The Developing Child: Using Jungian Type to Understand Children, author Murphy (1992) makes a very bold and thought-provoking statement. The author states, Before adults attempt to understand children, they should make some effort to understand themselves in the concept of psychological type. Fortunately, EDUC 745 and EDUC 755 have given me the opportunity to consider my personality tendencies (both weaknesses and strengths) and how I must be flexible and adapt to the needs of my students not the other way around. My co-workers are also a source of reflection, because of my interaction with them on a daily basis. I never realized how much personality type could influence my work and relationships with others. Although each personality type is needed and helpful, there are also times it can hinder as well. As a student, being an ISTJ has been very great. I love to organize, am practical, focus on facts, and take my work seriously. I also am a thinker who loves details and learning. However, as a teacher, it can be hard when some of my students place more emphasis on people, feelings, and flexibility, rather than tasks. I need to realize learning tasks, while important, are just one part of my responsibility as a teacher. I also need to focus on student relationships, self-concept, imagination and creativity.

Fortunately, now that Ive taken this class, I can differentiate for all personalities, not just my own, successfully by using the 4MAT method. This will give my students who are not task-oriented a better sense of belonging in my classroom. Before this semester, I never considered using the knowledge of personality traits to improve my relationships with my co-workers. Now, I know different. Outright problems rarely occurred, though I always wondered how they might perceive me. I realize that I need to listen more and consider various perspectives or feelings before making decisions. Additionally, although Im an introvert, I need to make more of an effort to know my coworkers on a personal level. Now I know that I could possibly hurt my coworkers who value empathy and personal warmth simply by coming from a purely logical and taskoriented standpoint. I will have to make a conscious effort to take into consideration values of others. I will also try not to be so offended if they do not value my input, self-made materials, and focus on day-to-day tasks. I feel learning about the Jung personality theory and the Myers-Brigg indicator tests will be very useful for me. In the context of general psychology classes most undergrads have to take, it is hard for teacher candidates to reflect on what the Jung personality types could translate to in the classroom. This semester in 745 and 755 I am glad I was able to reflect, as a teacher practitioner. I look forward to implementing the 4MAT method and personality groupings. My classroom culture, student interaction, and student achievement will depend upon it.

References Murphy, E. (1992). The developing child: Using jungian type to understand children. (pp. 1-5). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.