What most surprises me after completing the assessments, are the similarities of the results when compared to the MBTI--Myers/Briggs/Type/Indicator, which is a personality inventory that gives a four letter code such as ISTJ (Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, Judgmental). A person is able to have anyone of 16 possible combination using this inventory. The class assessments label me as Judging, which I am, and which the MBTI confirms as well. Consistency is good unless all the inventories are based on faulty assumptions or research.
As I try to apply this aspect of my personality to leadership, I seek to evaluate both internal and external aspects of my life and career, that is--teaching. The internal part deals with me looking at my own performance or the results that an endeavor has produced. As has recently be mentioned in the Patrick Awuah video, perfection is not possible, but it's what we should shoot for. I'm always shooting for perfection, so I'm evaluating my own labors or thoughts on how such and such should be accomplished. That's why I'm constantly changing the way I teach a concept, its procedure of completion, and the final result that the students should produce. The external part deals with looking at the work of others, not simply to criticize, but to see where genius might exist. Maybe someones ideas or methods can be tweaked to fit my challenges, as a teacher... as a teacher-leader.
Hopefully, the end results from my labor, my my co-workers, and my students, will be judged very good, with only a little tweaking necessary.
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Hi Lenn,
ReplyDeleteMy assessments were pretty close to being the same too! I think I'm getting more fixed in my ways the older I get! One problem many of our teachers have in our little schools is that they don't have the opportunity to see what other teachers are doing, as they are probably the only one in their district in a position. They can't get ideas from peers. I think it makes changing their practices difficult. It does take a teacher leader in a small district to really make a change and garner support from administration as well as co-workers. Seems to be a harder task in the small districts.
Change is good, but scary for many. It's good that there are teacher leaders like you who can model adaptability like that!
Thanks,
Mary
Wow Lenn, it's been eons since I took the MBTI...I wonder if I have my results shoved somewhere in a folder. Like you Lenn, I too shoot for perfection and find myself tweaking my teaching continually. I love your comment about looking at the work of others to see where genius might exist! That's so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI wonder about my MBTI too. I admire your changing to find different ways to teach. I think that this is key to being a successful teacher and I find it one of the most rewarding aspects of our job, because we get to use our creativity, adaptability and analysis of our students. I think the same thing is true of a good teacher leader. Who and what you lead will change and you need to change with it.
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