Sharing Good Practice
chain. Brennan and instructional coach
Haag analyzed the students’ MMTIC
profiles to identify patterns in those
who had completed their chain and
those who did not. They found striking
correlations. All but one of those who
were able to do homework every night
had shown to be a “Judger,” a type
with clear personality preferences for
early starts, respecting deadlines, and
valuing completion. The “Perceivers”
(a type valuing flexibility, spontaneity
and tend to work best in bursts of
energy) broke the chain within the first
48 hours. Reinhart and Brennan led
the students in a discussion of how
each personality type approached
this challenge. Students clearly saw
the differences between Judger and
Perceiver preferences and how these
preferences reflect in their individual
study habits and motivations. Brennan
then asked the students to create study
plans according to their preferences
and to pair up with a student with an
opposite preference for the next round
of “Don’t Break the Chain.” Students
gained insight into how they can best
study, and most received higher test
scores as a result.
In IB English Language-Literature,
Susan Price was also curious about how
her twelve students were coping with
the preparation for the demanding
Paper 2 examination looming at the
end of the course.
During Grade 11, she had noticed that
whilst the class excelled and soared
with analysis in discussion, many
failed to reach a commensurate level
in written responses. Conversely, a
few students knew the texts in some
detail, but were unable to take their
knowledge into the more abstract
realm of analytical thought required by
the Assessment Criteria. Two students
had achieved this combination, but
what of the others? Was it actually
possible to help them or was it mainly
a case of innate cognitive aptitude as
indicated by the results of the CAT
4 predictions, based on one verbal
battery? Teaming up Shelley Reinhart
and Instructional Coach, Dina Coppes,
Price arranged for all the students to
sit the MMTIC and reflect on the
recommendations for study and
experiment with different ways of
working. Price organized some lessons
according to the MBTI preferences;
grouping was arranged with “Sensors”
(a type who values specifics and
details) working with “Intuitors” (a
type who values big-picture ideas
and making connections). The
Intuitors were pleasantly surprised to
see that working with someone who
instinctively veers towards a more
detail-oriented approach could draw
them into more grounded, evidence-
supported analysis; the Sensors
learned that through seeing the bigger
picture and making connections, the
micro-elements of a text could lead to
more abstract conclusions.
Likewise, in the arena of independent
study, many of the students discovered
much about themselves as learners
- some realizing that study for them
should be an ‘arena’, rather than an
isolated activity. Students who had not
contemplated group study sampled
it and found it beneficial. An ISTJ (an
introverted, sensor, thinker, judger)
student who had wandered, unfulfilled
academically, through English, is now
preparing for the May Paper 2 with
the only other ISTJ in the class, and is
finally happy and achieving.
Alongside all this student-centered
activity, Price began, from the
September of Grade 12, tracking the
results for the specific IB Literature
criteria:
• IOC: Knowledge and Understanding
- 92% of students in class showed
growth with an average growth rate
of 122% from the first assessment to
the last.
• IOC: Appreciation of Writer’s Choice
- 92% of students in class showed
growth with an average growth rate
of 241% from the first assessment to
the last.
• IOC: Organization - 83% of students
in class showed growth with an
average growth rate of 101% from
the first assessment to the last.
• IOC: Language - 42% of students
in class showed growth with an
average growth rate of 17% from the
first assessment to the last.
Whilst the MBTI cannot be said to be a
panacea to the many ways which cause
unfulfilled potential, Price feels that
her students became much more self-
aware as learners. The final IB results
will emerge in early July; whatever the
outcome, the MBTI means the students
have been given the opportunity to
learn about themselves and from each
other - and have certainly engaged
with texts and analysis in ways they
may not have encountered otherwise.
Class Time
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May - Jun 2019
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