Looks like an ape to me! (Pedagogy Saturday VI).(child learning styles)

Michelle Conda, commentator

I love watching the behaviors of others. I think that is what we find thrilling about teaching--watching our students react and grow. However, I know there are many times I witnessed a student's frustration as well as my own as we didn't seem to "connect." I also see it everyday with my four-year-old son, who is nothing--and I mean nothing--like me.

I frankly found it insightful to be able to explain the behaviors of my students (and child) using Keith Golay's personality types. It served to remind me that intelligence and personality are not related--given the right understanding of a student and teaching to the personality of that student, wonders are beheld.

The analyses of the videotaped sessions with teachers and students were invaluable for helping us pick out their personality types. We discovered a "match" between personality types is ideal, as was shown by the precocious students of Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield and Bruce Berr. Bruce's personality type matched his bubbly student exactly. Personally, I found this puzzling, as I assumed Bruce to be a totally different personality.

This leads me to the three warnings I developed through watching this session.

1. Don't issue a personality type to a student or person unless you do the background work.

I had "diagnosed" Bruce to be a totally different personality than, in fact, he was. This is after knowing Bruce professionally for five years. You need to give the written test or really observe your students to make sure you are not just flippantly assigning them a personality type. A little information is a dangerous thing. If you are going to use personality typing as a way to teach, you should read more about it.