Tips for Teaching Introverted Students |
posted by: Melissa | March 01, 2013, 08:16 PM |
A few weeks ago, an article in The Atlantic made a bit of a stir. Written by a teacher, the article argued that participation grades should be part of a teaching structure as a way to teach introverts to be more outspoken and to speak their minds. The author, Jessica Lahey, reasons that it is a teacher’s responsibility to teach students how to succeed in the world, which means teaching introverts to “self-advocate” and not to be “intimidated” by the world around them.
Much of the criticism given to Ms. Lahey came from the confusion between shy students and introverted students. While shy students are afraid of speaking out because they fear being judged by their peers, introverted students have no such fear and can often be extremely self-confident. They are not likely to be motivated by a participation grade.
It is important that introverted students are given practice at putting their thoughts into words and presenting them in front of a group both casually and formally. The challenge for the teacher is to create strategies that allow students to do that. Below are some tips on how to encourage greater participation by introverted students:
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Comments (2)
From an introvert
written by D L, December 29, 2015
Quit trying to "fix" us, and start accepting us! Don't shove us into a group of strangers and tell us it's to "help" us make friends. We know how to do that. Don't put us in charge of a group to "help you be a leader" unless we ask you to. We aren't broken, so don't fix us.
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