04 How Kids Learn: Sensing vs Intuition
In this Episode, Sandra and Em discuss the Sensing vs Intuition preference pair in kids and how this affects the way they learn.
Our topic of the day covers:
- Explanation of the Sensing vs Intuition preference pair in the Myers-Briggs personality type model which deals with how we take in information
- Observable behaviors in your child that may help you decipher whether they prefer one or the other
- How kids who prefer Sensing learn vs how kids who prefer Intuition learn
- Helpful tips for helping your Sensing or Intuition kids with their distance learning, or just how to communicate with them in general!
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Podcast Episode Summary
With schools around the country (and world!) closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are finding us assisting our children much more closely with their learning than we ever were before. The Sensing (S) and Intuition (N) preference pair in Myers-Briggs determines how we take in information from the world. Understanding whether your child prefers Sensing or Intuition can really give you, as a parent, insight into how they learn best.
Topic of the Day: The Sensing vs Intuition preference pair in children and how they learn
- Sandra explains that this particular Myers-Briggs preference pair can help you understand how your child prefers to take in information, which can help when you assist them in distance learning
- They talk a bit about the impact these couple months of distance learning may have on their kids or on the greater population as a whole
- Intuition vs Sensing:
- Sensing and Intuition deal with how we take in information from the world around us
- Sandra reminds that we do both of these – check out episode 2 for more around preference pairs and how to pick one or the other when you feel like you do both
- Sensing: Like to deal in the world of facts, details and practicality
- Intuition: Like to deal in the world of connections, themes and ideas
- Children who prefers Sensing (S) list of behaviors:
- Realistic and practical
- Notice details and remember facts
- See what is
- Like real toys that imitate real life
- Enjoy games with established rules
- Want clear, step-by-step directions
- Like examples and models to follow; trust their past experience
- Work at a steady pace
- Accept things as they are
- Prefer to draw on past experiences or instruction from others for how to play or approach problems
- Sensitive to how their clothes feel or look
- Appear to be more “in their body”
- Children who prefers Intuition (N) list of behaviors::
- Imaginative and creative
- May not remember facts or details as well as concepts
- See possibilities
- Like unusual toys and open-ended activities
- Make assumptions based on their hunches
- Want to find new ways of solving problems; trust their vision
- Work with bursts of energy
- Interested in how things could be
- Enjoy coming up with their own new ideas of how to play or approach problems
- May spend as much time “planning” their play than actually engaging in play
- Appear to be more “in their head”
- Em says after listening to those lists she’s leaning toward S. She says June is very factual and realistic. She’s creative and artsy but she loves details and facts, leans on past experiences and loves rules. Em says for herself, as an N, she resonates with everything on the N list though.
- Sandra goes through how to help your Sensing child learn:
- Step by step, detailed instructions. They can be overwhelmed when given something to do without a starting point. Even an instruction like “clean up your room” can be overwhelming, instead tell them where to start (e.g. “put all of your books on the bookshelf”). With assignments, they may need help getting started if the instructions weren’t very detailed.
- Start with the facts and details, then get to the main point afterward.
- We talk about Kiwi Co subscription boxes. Em says June (S) likes the step by step instructions. Sandra says Ryker (N) did not want to do the part of the most recent project that had so many detailed steps to it and that Ripley (S) liked following the directions exactly and looks at and follows the models for how to make her things look “pretty”
- Repetition is especially important for an SJ. It makes them feel more comfortable and confident that they can do it again when it pops up. Do the same type of math problem over and over again – make an extra worksheet for them to do extra practice. If they spelled a word wrong, have them write it down the write way 5 times before moving on
- Break a long deadline down into sub-deadlines. For example with a book report. First read book by such and such date. Write a draft by such and such date. Then the final draft. Etc.
- Em says she prefers to leave things to the last minute as a Perceiver (P). Sandra says that Perceivers actually do their best work at the last minute. Em calls it “The Flow”. She says she is not regimented like her husband but she just works differently. Sandra says the main thing she wants people to understand about type is that there is not better or worse, both sides of the preference pairs are equally good and effective ways of doing things. They’re just different.
- They talk about how SJs make up the majority of the population and the fact that the education system is run by SJs and caters to the SJ learner.
- Opportunities for hands-on learning – especially for your SP kid. Don’t just tell them about how plants grow and need the sun – plant a bulb in a pot and watch it grow. Sandra says Ryker actually had that project this week for school, but he is not excited about it because of all the work to water it etc
- How to help your Intuition user learn
- Start with the main point – fill in the details and facts later. Don’t give too many facts and details that aren’t necessary
- Let them decide how they want to complete a project
- Avoid busy, repetitive work, this will demotivate them, instead have them solve the same problem in a different way, this will reinforce the concept for them without leaving them drained from the repetition
- Have them be involved in coming up with a strategy for remembering facts/details they need to know. They will be more motivated to apply the strategy if they have come up with it themselves (e.g. I always used flashcards)
- Opportunities for creative work For example: design what your ideal garden would look like
Action / Challenge: Can you identify one of your children and whether they seem to have a preference for Sensing or Intuition? Write down a reminder to yourself of how they prefer to take in information – refer to this next time you are helping them with school or giving them some sort of instruction
E-mail Call-out: Do you have a child who you think prefers Sensing? Or a child who you think prefers Intuition? What does that look like for them?
familypersonalitypod@gmail.com
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