Comments on: Giving Students All We’ve Got

By: Elizabeth Stein

Elizabeth Stein — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:11:09 +0000

Bill, What a great way to get the year off to a strong start! Thanks for sharing your story about this practice in action. It is also great to hear from other INFJs as well as Dan Willingham enthusiasts!

By: Bill Ivey

Bill Ivey — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:01:52 +0000

Often, what is good practice with kids is also good practice for adults. So this year, we decided to spend the first few weeks of middle school team meetings building community. We went back to the mission statement of our school as well as “This We Believe” from AMLE (c.f. http://www.amle.org/aboutamle/thiswebelieve/the16characteristics/tabid/1274/default.aspx ) to talk about the foundational values and principles of our school. And we all took Myers-Briggs, and our Head of School facilitated a discussion around that. I think it was valuable not just for learning about our own individual styles as well as those of our colleagues, but also for helping us appreciate the need for a range of styles to help the team be successful.

P.S. I, too, am INFJ as is my Head of School. And my wife. :-)

P.P.S. Thanks for the kind words about my book review! Dan Willingham has a great way of making me think and re-evaluate what I do.

By: Elizabeth Stein

Elizabeth Stein — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 01:03:05 +0000

Oh, Laurie, you make me laugh! Just think of the fun we would have if we shared a classroom! Our ESFJ and INFJ preferences would definitely complement one another….

The key here is how do co-teachers build this rapport of acceptance? I am excited to hear what are folks out there are doing to ensure a strong sense of self and a strong sense of one another? Or not. Is there anyone out there who is struggling in this area?
Do share–we can learn so much from one another…

By: Elizabeth Stein

Elizabeth Stein — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 00:36:50 +0000

Fran, I know what you mean about being a learning style skeptic! I, too, continue to fine tune my perspective on that subject. Here’s a great read on the subject: http://www.middleweb.com/3674/how-might-students-like-school/ . I think Daniel Willngham offers teachers much to think about, and I enjoyed Bill Ivey’s book review.

On another note, thanks for sharing your view about the importance for teachers to place understanding one another as a top priority. I have become so much more balanced in my approach now that I remain aware of my personal personality preferences along with my co-teachers’ preferences. We all know that poster that hangs in so many classrooms: “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

By: A Tool to Build the Co-Teaching Relationship | MiddleWeb | Teacher Leadership Weekly | Scoop.it

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 23:57:44 +0000

[...] Co-teachers need to be aware of their personalities and those of their co-teachers, says Elizabeth Stein. How to gain this awareness? So many possibilities and options are out there. What fits your situation best. [...]

By: Laurie Wassermansserman

Laurie Wassermansserman — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:54:00 +0000

Elizabeth,
Thank-you so much for teaching us about ourselves. I knew I was an extravert, at least in the classroom, but it’s so helpful to learn about the sensing, feeling and judging that also make up my personality. I know I must drive my colleagues crazy with my random thoughts that often feel like a middle schooler on overdrive (I tend to be the one who jumps up in the middle of a science lesson on phases of the moon when kids are confused, leave the room to grab a yellow Nerf ball out of the closet to show the sun, or put marker on it to show that there’s really not a “half moon.”)

I think we do need a sense of who we are in relation to our teaching partners’ personalities (thankfully my partners aren’t hyper like me or we’d be constantly have trouble staying on task!) I think it helps me appreciate that just like our students are all very different, so too, are our co-teaching partners. I jokingly once said to a dear friend when we were chatting about our spouses, “Would you really want to be married to you or do you like that your spouse is different than you?” we agreed that our differences compliment one another; so too can our different personalities in the classroom.

By: Fran Toomey

Fran Toomey — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:19:21 +0000

Although I am a skeptic about learning style tools (given the reserachj), I agree that teachers need to understand each others’ approaches, values, goals and views of students’ potential–in the best interests of their students. Each brings a different knowledge base and skill set; both are essential to student success.