This file discusses briefly (1) the four dimensions underlying the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and (2) several teaching approaches that will appeal to different MBTI profiles.
The 126 item Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Form G, is the most reliable method for assessing student learning style. The MBTI provides data on four sets of preferences. These preferences result in 16 learning styles, or types. A type is the combination of the four preferences. The most common MBTI type for business undergraduates is the ESTJ, the Extraverted-Sensing-Thinking-Judger.
The MBTI instrument should be administered in the first or second class period by the counseling center at your school. It takes about 45 minutes to complete the instrument. The counseling center can score the MBTI and share the data with the students. Students enjoy learning about themselves and find the MBTI data informative.
This preference tells us how people "charge their batteries." Introverts find energy in the inner world of ideas, concepts, and abstractions. They can be sociable but need quiet to recharge their batteries. Introverts want to understand the world. Introverts are concentrators and reflective thinkers. Their motto is: Ready, Aim, Aim, ..... For the introvert, there is no impression without reflection.
Extraverts find energy in things and people. They prefer interaction with others, and are action oriented. Extraverts are interactors and "on-the-fly" thinkers. Their motto is: Ready, Fire, Aim. For the extravert, there is no impression without expression.
The majority of undergraduate students are extraverts. Based on data from the Center for Applied Psychological Type (CAPT) between 56% and 58% of over 16,000 freshman students at three state universities were extraverts. Interestingly, over 83% of college student leaders were extraverts, while over 65% of Phi Beta Kappas were introverts. Our own data base indicates that over 65% of business students are extraverts. It is not surprising that almost two-thirds of undergraduate business students are extraverts. Students may major in business administration because the business world appreciates and rewards action which coincides with the extraverts' strength.
The majority of university faculty are introverts. CAPT reported that almost 55% of 2,282 faculty are introverts. Our own data base for business faculty indicates that over 60% are introverts..
Extraverted students learn by explaining to others. They do not know if they understand the subject until they try to explain it to themselves or others. Extraverted students have told us that they thought they knew the material until they tried to explain it to a fellow student. Only then did they realize they did not understand the subject.
Extraverted students enjoy working in groups. Consider in-class or outside-of-class group exercises and projects. We recommend the
In a seminal study, George Miller noted that people can hold 7 + 2 chunks of knowledge in their minds at any given time. If each knowledge chunk contains a specific fact, then the amount of knowledge possessed is limited. But if each chunk contains many interconnected facts, a network or framework of facts, then the amount of knowledge is almost unlimited.
Introverted students want to develop frameworks that integrate or connect the subject matter. To an introvert, disconnected chunks are not knowledge, merely information. Knowledge means interconnecting material and seeing the "big picture."
Faculty should teach their students how to chunk, or group and interconnect, knowledge. Introverted students will appreciate it, extraverted students may not. Nevertheless, cognitive psychologists tell us that through chunking, students master the material. We recommend that faculty teach students how to build a compare/ contrast table, flowchart, or concept map.
Some of us choose to rely on our five senses. Some prefer taking in information through our "sixth" sense. Sensing people are detail oriented, want facts, and trust them. Joe Friday from the TV show Dragnet epitomizes the extreme sensing detective. All he ever wanted was "just the facts".
Intuitive people seek out patterns and relationships among the facts they have gathered. They trust hunches and their intuition and look for the "big picture." The quintessential intuitive was Albert Einstein whose fanciful thought experiments revolutionized the 20th century. He could see patterns where others saw randomness or chaos.
The majority of undergraduates are sensing students. Based on data from the Center for Applied Psychological Type (CAPT) between 56% and 72% of over 16,000 freshmen at three state universities were sensing students. Interestingly, almost 83% of national merit scholarship finalists and 92% of Rhodes Scholars were intuitive students. Our own data base indicates that over 65% of business majors are sensing students.
The majority of university faculty are intuitive. CAPT reported that almost 64% of 2,282 faculty are intuitive. We obtained the same percentage from our business faculty data base.
Sensing students prefer organized, linear, and structured lectures.
We recommend three methods for organizing a lecture: (1) the what
must be known organizing strategy, (2) the application-theory
-application
organizing strategy and (3) the advance organizer.
In the what must be known (WMBK) method, we first ask:
What is (are) the topic's most essential general principle(s)
or goals? Place the answer in a goal box. We then ask: What topic(s)
must be known such that students could achieve the goal? Place
these subgoal boxes below the goal box and show an arrow leading
from each subgoal box to the goal box. Continue to ask WMBK questions
until you interface with material previously covered. You would
then present the lecture by starting at the bottom of the diagram
and work up towards the goal box.
The A-T-A method begins with a faculty member
presenting an (A)pplication
(problem or mini-case) to the class. The students attempt to analyze
and solve the case or problem without the benefit of the
upcoming chapter's theory or ideas. Applications motivate
sensing students to learn the material. Applications answer the
question that sensing students often ask, "why am I learning
this material?" After the class has struggled with the problem
(and sometimes emerged victoriously), the teacher presents the
chapter's (T)heory or ideas, and then applies it to the original
application. Afterwards the teacher presents additional (A)pplications
and has the students apply the theory.
An opening application problem or mini-case should (1) be familiar
to students, (2) engage their curiosity, (3) be almost
solvable from previous text material or student experiences, and
(4) be baffling, or counter-intuitive, if possible. A familiar
problem assures sensing students that their experiences have prepared
them to address the problem. The third attribute minimizes students'
frustrations. The application should be "just beyond a student's
reach". However, previously learned material or experiences
should help students make a reasonable solution attempt. An application
that is too significant a leap will cause frustration, and the
feeling that the teacher is playing games with the students.
David Ausubel's advance organizer is a brief lecture or demonstration
during the introduction of the lecture that provides a mental
scaffolding to anchor the new material. The advance
organizer provides a set of highly general concepts that subsume
the material about to be learned. An advance organizer taps into
students' existing knowledge structures. It helps cross-list
new information with already existing information and thus aids
learning and knowledge retrieval. It makes the unfamiliar more
familiar; it makes the abstract more concrete.
Note how the following advance organizer taps into
existing knowledge that the students should have already acquired.
The advance organizer is not an overview. An overview would
have introduced the students to the lecture's key ideas: Gandhi,
salt monopoly, British policy, boiling sea water, etc..
The advance organizer provides a familiar setting to anchor new,
and potentially strange, material. The organizer works because
at a very general level, the marches of King and Gandhi dealt
with charismatic leaders in a struggle against oppressive forces.
For an African-American audience, the MLK organizer transformed
an abstract lecture into a familiar and more concrete setting.
Faculty can develop advance organizers by answering the following
questions:
Intuitive students prefer either the traditional Theory-Application-Theory
approach or the A-T-A approach using discovery learning.
We illustrate the A-T-A approach using discovery learning in teaching
the central limit theorem in a basic statistics course. The teacher
selects 50 numbers from a random numbers table, and develops a
frequency histogram. The data are not bell-shaped. The teacher
then selects 30 samples of size eight numbers (replacing each
number after it is drawn) from the 50 numbers, computes the 30
means, and develops a frequency histogram for the means. The histogram
is now roughly bell-shaped. The teacher concludes the demonstration
by asking why is the histogram of means nearly bell-shaped.
Using the discovery method, students hopefully will discover the
reasons underlying the central limit theorem.
The discovery method, or the why method, will appeal to
intuitive students and will teach sensing students how to uncover
general principles. In using this method, sensing and intuitive
students should be combined in learning groups. The intuitive
student can help the sensing student to discover the theory; the
sensing student can help identify and marshal the facts of the
exercise.
Intuitive students must have the big picture, or an integrating
framework, to understand a subject. The big picture shows how
the subject matter is interrelated. Intuitive students can develop
reasonably correct concept maps or compare and contrast tables.
Fortunately, sensing students can be taught to do the same.
Some of us choose to decide things impersonally on analysis, logic,
and principle. Some of us make decisions by focusing on human
values. Thinking students value fairness. What could be fairer
than focusing on the situation's logic, and placing great weight
on objective criteria in making a decision. Mr. Spock, science
officer of the starship Enterprise, had an extreme preference
for thinking.
Feeling students value harmony. They focus on human values and
needs as they make decisions or arrive at judgments. They tend
to be good at persuasion and facilitating differences among group
members. Dr. McCoy, Spock's colleague aboard the Enterprise, demonstrated
a preference for feeling.
Unlike the two previous sets of preferences, CAPT reports that
on this dimension, the proportion of males and females differ.
About 64% of all males have a preference for thinking, while only
about 34% of all females have a preference for thinking.
Our own data base indicates that over 70% of male and female under-graduate
business students are thinking students. It is not surprising
that the majority of business majors are thinking students. Business
is, after all, the domain of logic and analysis.
The majority of university faculty have a preference for thinking.
CAPT reported that almost 54% of 2,282 faculty are thinking. Seventy
percent of business faculty have a preference for thinking. Thus,
on the thinking versus feeling preference, business faculty and
students are similar.
Thinking students like clear course and topic objectives. Clear
course or topic objectives avoid vague words or expressions such
as "students will appreciate or be exposed to." Rather,
objectives are precise and action-oriented. By precise we mean
that teachers can write objectives at three meta-levels of learning:
rote, meaningful and integrated, and critical thinking. By action
oriented we mean that the verbs describe what students must do,
not what faculty will do. The Bloom et al. taxonomy provides guidelines
for writing clear and meaningful objectives.
Feeling students like working in groups, especially harmonious
groups. They enjoy the small group exercises such as TAPPS and
the Nominal Group Method. To promote harmonious groups, we sometimes
provide students with the following guidelines on how to facilitate
small group meetings inside or outside of class
Some of us like to postpone action and seek more data. Others
like to make quick decisions. Judging people are decisive,
planful and selfregimented. They focus on completing the task,
only want to know the essentials, and take action quickly (perhaps
too quickly). They plan their work and work their plan. Deadlines
are sacred. Their motto is: just do it!
Perceptive people are curious, adaptable, and spontaneous. They
start many tasks, want to know everything about each task, and
often find it difficult to complete a task. Deadlines are meant
to be stretched. Their motto is: on the other hand ... .
The majority of undergraduate students are judging students. Based
on data from the Center for Applied Psychological Type (CAPT)
between 46% and 60% of over 16,000 freshmen at three state universities
were judging students. Interestingly, almost 64% of Rhodes Scholars
were perceptive students. Our own data base indicates that over
70% of undergraduate business students are judging students.
The majority of university faculty also have a preference for
judging. CAPT reported that almost 65% of 2,282 faculty prefer
judging. We obtained the same percentage from our business faculty
data base.
We have found that the following hints on note taking and test
taking help judging students learn more effectively.
Speedwriting
Split Page
Color Coding
AOR Model
Reverse Question
Treating Objective Questions as Essay Question
Your universities' learning resource center is an especially good
source for additional hints on note and test taking. Include several
hints in each course syllabus. Spend a few minutes explaining
these hints in the first class period. Occasionally remind the
students of the hints (especially before the first exam).
Judging students often reach too-quick closure when analyzing
cases. Thus we recommend a second-look meeting. After completing
the case, the group reviews their analysis. A student plays a
"gentle" Devil's Advocate (DA) and challenges the group's
conclusions. The DA should be prepared to recommend an alternative
solution. This will force the group to consider the pros and cons
of both approaches. The DA can also ask team members to state
assumptions about stakeholders (those who are affected by or will
affect the case solution) which must be true for the group's solution
to be effective. The DA can then challenge the group to provide
evidence that the assumptions are true. Guidelines for a second-look
meeting should be included in the case preparation hints provided
to students.
Perceptive students often postpone doing an assignment until the
very last minute. They are not lazy. Quite to the contrary, they
seek information to the very last minute (and sometimes beyond).
We recommend decomposing a complex project or paper into a series
of sub-assignments and providing deadlines for each sub-assignment.
The deadlines may keep the perceptive students on target.
Decomposing a major project into sub-assignments provides the
opportunity for continuous feedback to the student. Have students
hand-in an audio tape with their sub-assignments. The teacher
can then provide detailed audio (we speak faster than we can write)
comments on content and grammar. When we have used the audio feedback
approach, final papers are clear and readable, and thus less aggravation
to read. Moreover, without the teacher's interim feedback, students
lose an opportunity to improve their writing skills during the
semester.
The MBTI instrument is available from Consulting Psychological Press in
Palo Alto, California.
Percentage data taken from Isabel Briggs Myers
and Mary McCaulley, Manual: A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Consulting Psychologist Press, 1985.
David Ausubel, Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View. Holt,
Rinehart, and Winston, 1968.
Teaching Intuitive Students
Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F)
Teaching Thinking Students
Teaching Feeling Students
Judging (J) versus Perceptive (P)
Teaching Judging Students
Most students can learn speedwriting in several
minutes. Just omit all (or most) vowels. Or develop your own shorthand
method.
For example, mst stdnts cn lrn spdwrtng in svrl mnts. Jst omt
ll or mst vwls.
Draw a line down center of a notebook page. On the
left-hand side, record the lecture (use speedwriting or your own
shorthand notation). After class, write a commentary on
the right-hand side. Include restating ideas in your own words,
finding sources of confusion, identifying key points, looking
for links to earlier learned material, and asking what does this
mean to me (the student).
Use different colors to record ideas presented in
class and found in the text or readings. For example, use blue
to code major ideas and green to code links to previously learned
material.
In answering an essay question, first Analyze
the question and jot down key ideas, Organize the ideas
into a logical sequence, and only then write the essay (Respond).
To review an essay question, first read your
answer. Then construct a essay question based on your answer.
Now compare your question to the teacher's question. If different,
revise your answer. This strategy ensures that students answer
the teacher's question.
Read the question's
stem (the portion that contains the question) and write a brief answer.
Then compare your answer to the four or five choices, and select the answer
most similar to your mini-essay.
Teaching Perceptive Students
Additional Readings
George Miller, "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two,"
Psychological Review, April 1956, pp.81-97.
Benjamin Bloom, M. Englehart, E. Furst, W, Hill and D. Krathwohl,
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain, Longmans Green, New York, 1956.