The concepts of extroversion and introversion were first put forward by

psychologist Carl Jung in his 1921 book Psychological Types. In a nutshell,

an extrovert is someone who thrives on external stimulation (e.g. social
interaction), while an introvert gets most of his or her energy from solitary
reflection

How can you tell if a group member is an introvert or an

extrovert?
An introvert :

makes more and sustained eye contact

will appear to think before she speaks

may disappear during breaks, or talk deeply with only one person during
breaks

may seem shy around the group in the beginning, until he gets to know
everyone better

needs quiet time away from the group to relax and process

An extrovert : will appear energized by being in the group situation

jumps right into the conversation and thinks while he speaks

may prefer to talk with 3 or 4 people during breaks

will interact with everyone in the group, even in the beginning, because she

loves to meet new people

may enjoy additional social time with the group after the official group
meeting ends

How to Facilitate Introverts and Extroverts in

Your Group or Class
An introvert gains energy by being alone, and expends energy when in a group
setting, like a mastermind group. Being an introvert doesnt mean a person is shy;
it means he needs quiet time alone to process the outcome of the group meetings
and recharge his batteries before he wants to get back into the group-mode again.
An extrovert gains energy when she is out in the world, especially brainstorming
with a group of people. Shes excited to share ideas and to process her thoughts
verbally in the group. Sometimes she gets her best ideas while talking through a
problem with other people.

How do you facilitate a group that includes both types?

An introvert needs quiet time, even a minute or two, to collect his thoughts and
reactions to a given problem or situation. Giving the entire group a few minutes to
write down their ideas on their own, before sharing, can give the introvert the space
he needs to process.
On the other hand, the extrovert needs time to talk out loud, to process her
thoughts while shes actively communicating with others. Knowing this, you can
allow the extrovert a few minutes to explain her situation: she just might find clarity
or even solve her problem herself simply by talking openly about it.
Between meetings, give each of these types a way to communicate with the entire
group, possibly through an online message forum. The extrovert will appreciate the
ongoing connection to the group and the introvert can take his time to process
internally, then communicate at his leisure.

How can a teacher arrange his/her classroom so that it nourishes introverts and
extroverts equally? Here are some suggestions:

1) Build Quiet Time into The School Day

Classroom activity can be highly stimulating, involving frequent verbal exchange between
participants. While this may be beneficial for extroverts, introverts may need an
opportunity to 'recharge' after so much interaction. A 15-minute quiet reading break
during classroom time may do the trick.

2) More Pair Work

While large group discussions can cause introverts to hold back, and while solitary activity
can repress the potential of extroverts, pair work can appeal to both personality types.
This gives extroverts the opportunity to express themselves, while allowing introverts to
engage in deeper, more meaningful conversations with one other person. You could even
use pair work as a 'primer' for larger group discussions, since it may embolden introverts
to share their thoughts.

3) Rethink 'Class Participation'

In assessing a student's class participation, teachers may end up favouring quantity over
quality. Is a student who raises his or her hand at every opportunity really contributing
more to the classroom than a student who makes one very thoughtful comment? There

are also other, behind-the-scenes ways of participating in the classroom, such as helping
another classmate during work sessions.

4) Choice, Choice, Choice

If there is one thing that this discussion has been emphasizing time and again, it's that
there is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution to classroom learning. Give students opportunities to
choose the environment they'd like to work or learn in. Chances are, they understand
their own natures better than anyone else. So provide learning areas containing more of
an 'open-plan' and higher levels of stimulation, but also ones that are more secluded and
quiet. Let the students decide for themselves where and how they'd like to wor

LEARNING STYLES OF
INTROVERTS AND
EXTROVERTS

Home

There is a tendency for teachers to cater their teaching

styles to extroverts.
Typically, learners fall into two large groups introverts and extroverts
and as a teacher, your primary concern is making sure the material in your
lesson plan can be easily taught, understood, and applied.
A good place to start is by understanding both groups and what motivates
them to learn.

Educating Extroverts and Introverts

The first component of learning style dimensions is how learners interact
with the outside world. Extroverted learners prefer working with others and
bouncing ideas back and forth. Social and learning activities that benefit
them include problem-solving with others, group projects, and learning
through mimicking experiences.

Extroverted learners have the following characteristics:

Very outgoing, they are people people

Quite comfortable working in and being part of large crowds

Have a wide base of friends, enjoy getting to know a lot of people

Dive in without always thinking things through

Feel sapped when spending too much time alone

Extroverted learners possess a social learning style. In addition, they have
acute verbal learning styles as well, often communicating through stories or
being the first to volunteer for assignments and projects.
Introverts generally have a shy nature, and students who are introverted
have a solitary learning style, as they often prefer to solve problems on
their own. Introverted learners like to brainstorm and seek theoretical
exploration. They like to think out a problem and weigh options before
moving forward.
Introverted learners have the following characteristics:

Appear reflective or reserved

Slow to take action sometimes too slow

Have a very small but close group of friends preferring to get to

know a few people really well

Feel most comfortable doing things alone and prefer doing things that
can be done alone

Often likes the idea of things better than the actual thing

Finds spending time in large crowds or groups to be exhausting

In many classrooms, a large portion of the school day is centered on group
activities. In order to provide a balance that suits both extroverted and
introverted learners, teachers can coordinate both small group and
individual activities.
Also important to note: teachers should exercise patience, especially when
it comes to introverted students. If they are called upon in class to answer a
problem, it may take them a bit longer as they are probably carefully
assessing and evaluating their response. Giving them the appropriate time
to think quietly will help encourage the students logical learning style.

Extreme introverts may benefit from help during sessions with a school
counselor.
If you want to encourage introverts and extroverts at the same time, one
strategy that has proven effective is to have the class think-pairshare which means that after the teacher asks a question, students turn to
their partner, sharing their answers with each other rather than having to
speak in front of the whole class. In addition, you can implement a journal
time where students can write down stories and give them time to work
independently.
On the other hand, extroverts are typically energetic, social individuals
whose energy source comes from being around other people. These
students are expressive and tend to have many friends. Its important to
address their needs as well. Try group projects where 1-2 students lead, or
try voluntary storytelling.
Extroverted children thrive when working in collaborative groups, and they
enjoy class discussions as well. Class activities can help cater to this
learning style. As students get older, middle school and high schools
provide additional outlets for students of either learning style to feel more
comfortable. Students are able to have more flexibility in their schedules
and curriculum. So if the extroverted student wants to explore their verbal
learning style they can take classes like debate. For introverted learners
who want to focus on their visual learning style, they can take art or
ceramics.