Educational Psychology at Kenyon College, Fall 2018: An Overview of Introversion in the Classroom

Jack Ahern, English, '19
I chose my second SDL project because it has personal and political applicability. The interests of introverts are underrepresented in contemporary classrooms, and doing research for this project led me to believe that a serious overhauling of educational norms must occur. No more disproportionate capitalist folly!

The body politic is often divided between two categorical personality types: extraverted and introverted. In a classroom, where participation is part of one’s grade and asserting oneself is deemed an educational boon, does the latter have much room to maneuver? Luckily for me, there’s a wealth of opinions on the matter, along with a host of tenable solutions for how to accommodate individuals labeled (by themselves or by others) as introverted. I approached my overview of introversion in the classroom with the hope of answering some distinct questions such as: a) what is an introvert and who ought to claim that title?, b) how does being introverted affect learning in a classroom environment?, and c) is the current educational system accepting of introversion? The reading I did on the subject came from manifold sources; I started out by delving into web articles and blogs on sites such as “The Atlantic”, “We Are Teachers”, and “HuffPost”. To supplement this, I read Jessica R. Honard’s book Introversion in the Classroom: How to Prevent Burnout and Encourage Success. My findings are as follows.

Michael Godsey’s article “When Schools Overlook Introverts” was a depressive kickoff, as it underlined the overemphasis placed on collaborative learning (in part derived from CommonCore standards) and how this drastically reduces school performance in introverted students. While the article seemed to take grades for granted as a useful metric, it was fascinating to see an anonymous interviewee/introverted student who switched to a quieter school state that “disciplined classes” utterly transformed their ability to get assignments in on time. Other blog posts such as Katie Hurley’s “The Introvert in the Classroom” on HuffPost and an interview with TED alum Susan Cain (on tophat.com) seemed to venture forth a definition of introversion with the aim of correcting misconceptions: an introvert isn’t shy or fearful, but rather burns out due to overstimulation from competing voices. Hurley’s article in particular conjures a nightmarish vision of recess whereby everybody is immersed in a ploy for each other’s attention and introverts are necessarily waylaid. She suggests using the “buddy system” and discerning a student’s true interests (probably a critique of standardized curricula) as methods of rectifying this.

Jill Keidasch’s “10 Ways to Support Introverts in the Classroom” on weareteachers.com is also enamored with Susan Cain’s theory of appropriate stimulation, and even goes so far as to suggest changes in the architecture of a classroom to provide more individualized “nooks”. She also advocates for more intimate teacher-student talks about their participation and calibrating assignments to fit different personality types. This is similar to something Cain explicitly suggests, which is the use of technology to mitigate an overwhelming flood of stimuli. In essence, quietness need not be the rule, but it should at least be incorporated into the classroom for those who seek it. It’s fascinating that these quite logical accommodations might directly flout institutional expectations, such as the “collaborative learning” model Godsey believes bandwagon interests such as Google for Education seek to profit from.

Jessica Honard’s brief book is a sort of extensive structured guideline for how to both teach introverted students and function healthily as an introverted teacher. Honard agrees with the remarkable overemphasis placed on extraverted personalities in both school and society, and offers pragmatic workarounds for this vast inequity. Her thesis seems to be achieving balance in the classroom, where activities and teaching philosophies that cater to both extraverted and introverted students are given proportionate weight. This prevents what she labels “introvert burnout”, a process subdivided into “fatigue”, “headaches”, “irritability”, and “lack of motivation” whereby introverts “overdraft their energy accounts”(Honard 13-14). Quite helpfully, Honard augments the overall definition of introversion by denoting that structure and a lack of surprise are integral to accommodating more inward learners. To put it bluntly, she states that “in general, introverts are more susceptible to changes in their environment. They prefer consistency and organization, and they like to know exactly what is expected of them” (21). This in turn has implications from adjusting lighting to allotting time for individual study (which will also edify extraverts). Honard also endorses more ubiquitously acknowledged methods such as think-pair-share or alternative recess.

Honard also attempts a knotty chapter on rubrics, which both stresses the importance of rigid grading outlines and extolls the virtues of student rubric creation because it “forces the students into the role of the teacher” (34). For Honard, maintaining as an introverted teacher or student is not a paradox, but is rather something that requires intensive personal planning. Her concluding section deals with the personal determination of one’s “Point Zero”, or the “furthest place from burnout”, with mental and physical “sanctuaries” as daily manifestations of this (42). Organization is regarded as an excellent means of circumventing burnout, with a rational appraisal of one’s commitments and what one is passionate about leading to a fulfilled educational experience.

After absorbing this extant literature on the subject, I feel as if I can genuinely answer my aforementioned questions. Firstly, a few words on what “an introvert” is: an introvert is not shamefully quiet, but instead is more easily overstimulated and deserves time to recharge. To answer my second question on how this affects learning, being introverted demands more structured or predictable curricula and adequate break times; in essence, introversion is conducive to teaching philosophies related to independent study. Finally and dishearteningly, it is readily apparent that the contemporary educational system could care less about instituting a welcoming learning environment for introverts. Cultural capital only flows from abject extroversion, and thus being quiet is stigmatized and introversion-friendly class activities are eschewed for cloying group activities. To embrace a personality type that potentially constitutes 50% of the American population, modern educational institutions will need to instill in students that it can be acceptable to slow down and tune out.

Works Cited

Honard, Jessica. Introversion in the Classroom: How to Prevent Burnout and Encourage Success. Jessica Honard, 2015.

Godsey, Michael. “When Schools Overlook Introverts.” The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/introverts-at-school-overlook/407467/. Accessed November 14h, 2018.

Hurley, Katey. “The Introvert in the Classroom.” HuffPost Life, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-introvert-in-the-classroom_b_5760950. Accessed November 14th, 2018.

Keidasch, Jill. “10 Ways to Support Introverts in the Classroom.” We Are Teachers, https://www.weareteachers.com/support-introverts-in-the-classroom/. Accessed November 14th, 2018.

Parker, Quin. “Susie Cain’s 6 Things to Know About Introverts in the Classroom.” Top Hat, https://tophat.com/blog/susan-cain-classroom-introverts-webinar/. Accessed November 14th, 2018.