I think self-reflection is very important. For a recent
assignment I took several personality/learning-type tests. This allowed me to
reflect on what is important to me and what traits have shaped my life.
Taking the Jungian Briggs-Meyers test was interesting. I
felt that many of the questions were hard to answer and that I had to pick both
an inordinate amount of times. In the end the results indicated that I have
strengths in many of the areas, but that I am particularly an “action based”
person who likes to employ my skills to “achieve a tangible benefit for people”
and that I “probably take a caring and sensitive approach to others.” These
things are all certainly true and are at the heart of why I want to be a
teacher. I like to help and work with others and I care deeply about serving.
Teaching is a profession where I can see tangible proof of my actions benefiting
others every day, and where I can use my creativity, caring, and decisiveness
to help others and find success for myself. In another test I learned that
while I am strong most of the areas tested my strongest area is feelings. I
believe this is why I am fascinated by literature and why I chose to teach
English. I love that studying English can open us up to other worlds and can
help us feel what other people are feeling.
Another group of tests showed that I am comfortable with the
wide array of learning styles and that I particularly have a preference for
active learning. This means that I love explaining things to others. Because I
am a learner who can benefit from nearly any approach to teaching I am a
teacher who knows that I must use a wide variety of ways to reach my students. This
test also helped me realize that no matter what my classes throw at me I will
be able to handle it. This was also clear in the teaching-style test. I am
prone to being both a personal model and a facilitator. This means that I will
bring my skills and knowledge to the table in my classes and that I will help students
to become critical thinkers who can direct their own learning.
In the end this may to be interesting to anyone besides me,
but I am so glad I got the chance to look at myself. Seeing the real me on a
test is much more appealing than looking in a mirror. I’m just saying.
If you’d like to check out these tests for yourself here are
the links to the ones I used. I hope they prove as informative for you as they
have for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment