By DeAnna Miller
Recently, I read a blog post by teacher Bill Ferriter at the Center for Teaching Quality website titled, “Am I Failing the Introverts in My Classroom?” It got me wondering: are we really trying to reach all our students when we use such strategies as student collaboration, cold calls, etc. or are they strictly for those students that are extroverted, that learn best by hearing the ideas of others?
As an introspective learner, I know I process information differently than most. I mull it over, turning it every which way in my mind before I can make a decision on its value to me. I can become easily frustrated when too much information is given to me and I don’t have the time I need to process it in my own way.
So thinking about how I am as a “muller” had me wondering; what are we doing to ensure that our introverted students, those students that need to really mull things over, are getting the support they need in our classrooms?
Mullers are not always shy
A common misconception is that introverted people are shy. This is not always the case. Many introverted people, myself included, enjoy socializing, working with others, or talking about the things for which we are passionate. We are more of the mulling-kind than the shy-kind.
When we are given new information, we usually don’t like to talk about it right away. We need to think about it, compare it to what we already know, and consider how it affects us. We need our quiet time to reflect and recharge, especially after lots of group activities, or after we have received a lot of new information.
Ferriter puts it well when he says in his blog post:
“Now I’m not saying that I CAN’T learn with others. I actually dig moments where I connect with thinkers that I enjoy and admire. I recognize their expertise and appreciate their feedback. They are a source of challenge and inspiration and they tend to drive my thinking in new directions. But those moments can also leave me feeling more than a little overwhelmed — not because I’m socially awkward or nervous or full of anxiety, but because I know that I will leave with tons of new ideas that I know that I’ll need to wrestle with before I can move forward.”
In my own professional learning, I have had to learn to work within collaborative groups discussing new topics, ideas, or strategies. My comfort level, or prior knowledge with those concepts, really dictated how much I contributed to the discussion. This wasn’t always conducive to what we were trying to accomplish at the time, especially if we were truly exploring a concept entirely new to me.
I have often sat silently, listening to everyone talk around me, trying to gather my thoughts and feelings about the topic under discussion. And if I am called on before I am ready to share, I will stumble over my words, trying to come up with what I want to say without the time I need to process.
To others it may look like I am not paying attention to what is going on, or worse that I have no interest in what is being said; but the truth of the matter is that I am not mentally prepared to speak about what I know, because I have had no processing time.
What about our mulling students?
Now think of that student in your class that you cold call – the one that stumbles with their words as they try to answer your question – yet also the one you know is paying attention and probably has given great, introspective answers in the past.
Have you really given that student the time to process the information? Is this one of your “muller” kids, that if given the time to think, would give you the profound answer you are looking for, or an approach to a problem that allows others in the class to think in a different way?
When classroom instruction prioritizes extroverted behaviors, “few moments are set aside for genuine introspection,” Ferriter argues. This is why it is so important that we build think time and reflection time into our lessons. This simple tactic can help our mulling students feel more prepared for sharing with the rest of the class. (Editor’s note: here’s one idea for giving students more choice about when to speak – the poker chip strategy.)
Flipped classroom techniques could be another strategy that help our “mullers.” Allowing the time to read and process information before any application is done may help students who have to mull things over respond more readily in class.
This isn’t to say that creating more opportunity to mull will always work, but when we are trying to reach every learner in our classes, then we have to try a variety of approaches. And we must not be so quick to judge our quiet students. Quiet doesn’t always mean disengaged.
For some kids, learning is loud, messy, and meaningful; for others, learning is quiet, introspective, yet still meaningful. We must try to find the balance in our classrooms for both kinds of learners to prosper.
DeAnna Miller is an instructional coach in the Enterprise City (AL) Schools and a member of the Alabama Instructional Partners Network. She is an experienced middle school language arts teacher, with master’s degrees in reading and education administration.
