As a middle school teacher of 20 years, I have observed a variety of personality differences among my students. In designing my lessons, I take into account how a child’s personality type can influence their learning style, and I’ve found there can be big differences.

For instance, my students play a game before each unit test.

The purpose of this game is two-fold. One, it serves as a review of the major concepts studied in that unit. Two, it involves a way for students to engage in a friendly, competitive game, in which the winning team receives bonus points on their exam.

I created this game several years back, and it became a hit that many students looked forward to playing when they came into class. However, I noticed that some students found it to be incredibly stressful and anxiety provoking.

The game involves speed and accuracy and is a great outlet for those students who dedicate their time to studying and enjoy the thrill of competition. On the other hand, this game doesn’t necessarily spark the same motivation for students whose personalities are more laid back, who haven’t put in much time into reviewing for the test and/or who are less concerned with time constraints and winning.

The same game — with the same rules, asking the same questions, under the same time restrictions — can provoke a vastly different response for young people with different personality types. Let’s take a look at why this might be.

[Read more…]

Going to school for many kids is like going to war each and every day. It is a battleground where they are faced with the responsibility of making all kinds of decisions and having to deal with the consequences of their actions.

You see, making decisions independently is hard enough for a child. However, when faced with pressure from their peers to make a decision one way or the other, it becomes a whole new ball game.

There are so many more pressures that kids face today than ever before in history. The traditional pressures of smoking, drinking and drugs continue to pervade our society. But these days children have to engage on two different fronts: making wise decisions in person, and while using technology in the cyberworld, in particular on social media.

As a middle school teacher of 20 years, I have seen the evolution of challenges and the social pressures and expectations that kids face. Peer pressure to look and act a certain way, say the right things to be accepted into the “in-crowd,” play the “cool” games everyone else is playing, wear the latest designer clothing brands everyone else is wearing, and — nowadays — partake in the social media forums everyone else is taking part in. [Read more…]