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There are days when I am working that I don’t feel like I’m working. I sit down for three hours and plan out the anatomy of a course. I chip away at a new syllabus. I hop over to a Google Document and leave feedback on student work. I read up on some research, work on a book or plan out an article.

In these moments, I feel like I’m getting away with something — like I’m not actually doing work. I’ll have a moment of panic where I think, “Am I supposed to be at a meeting? Am I supposed to be teaching a class? Is this really okay?”

This is my life as a professor. I’m still adjusting to the amount of time I get to work alone. It’s a sharp contrast to being a middle school teacher. I loved that job but I came to realize that exhaustion was just a part of the job description. I learned to deal with massive blocks of time surrounded by a crowd, but at 3:40 each day, I had to decompress. Even with amazing kids doing amazing work, I was an introvert in an extroverted world.

Over the years, it became harder and harder to be an introverted teacher. Every professional development opportunity involved sitting in a massive group, doing ice breakers (I would rather let the ice melt slowly) and then tons of pair-share exercises. We shifted toward more time before and after school being out on duty. In the name of collaboration, we started planning lessons together and meeting in groups to form common assessments. Slowly, prep periods became group planning time.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the trends toward community collaboration. But what does this means for introverted teachers? Does the push toward group cohesion mean quieter, self-directed teachers lose their autonomy? Are we creating enough spaces of silence and solitude? Are allowing teachers to pursue their own learning away from the group? Or is that seen as divisive? With a push toward common assessments and common lesson planning, do our Professional Learning Communities actually allow teachers to work independently as professionals?

How can schools meet the needs of introverted teachers?

What would it look like for schools to accommodate introverted teachers? We often talk about meeting students where they are at but what about teachers? What would it look like for schools to modify their systems so that introverted teachers actually thrive? Here are a few ideas:

  • Provide professional development credit for personal learning. In other words, let teachers write books, conduct research, and publish blog posts for professional development credit. This would allow for introverts to do the kind of work that recharges them.
  • Empower your introverted teachers. Encourage teachers to find things classroom practices that benefit students while also allowing them to thrive. For example, teachers who are tired of being “on” all the time often thrive in doing shorter, more meaningful student conferencing.
  • Allow for individual processing time. If teachers are creating collaborative lessons, units, and assessments, make sure that there are moments of quiet built into the process. In some cases, allow teachers to opt in or opt out of collaborative projects. Or allow them to use asynchronous collaborative tools like a shared document.
  • Assume the best motives. Realize that introverted teachers aren’t “hiding something” when they get nervous about visitors in the classroom. It’s the same way they feel at a party or a meet and greet. Similarly, introverts aren’t being standoffish when they avoid the staff lounge at lunch. They simply need time to recharge. Being an introvert is a bit like being an iPhone. You’re packed with creative capacity but your battery life is woefully short.
  • Rethink leadership. In my experience, most of the leadership roles were hyper-relational. They required additional meeting times and extra phone calls. These can be exhausting for introverts. But what if we allowed introverts to be thought leaders on our campuses? What if we required fewer committee meetings and allowed introverts to lead through more one-on-one interactions?
  • Let them make stuff. What if we gave them the time, the space, or even the resources to create additional materials? Schools spend money on professional development, coaching, and student resources. They often pay groups of people to come in on the summer and do entire curriculum rewrites. But what if they created part-time positions where teachers could spend part of the day teaching and part of the day conducting research or creating materials (maybe videos, online courses, etc.) that allow the school to thrive?
  • Ask the Introverts. This is the simplest idea. Just ask them what they need in order to thrive. Chances are you’ll get great ideas from the introverts on your staff.

I realize that many of these ideas require leaders to change systems and structures. There are certain policies that can make this a challenge. However, I am convinced that educational leaders can redesign policies and structures so that all teachers – include the introverts – can thrive.

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John Spencer

My goal is simple. I want to make something each day. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both.More about me

15 Comments

  • John Wink says:

    Hi John,

    This post resonated with me as I am beginning the task of creating professional development plans for our district next year. As an extrovert myself, your piece opened my eyes to needs of those who think and learn differently from me. As we begin the process of considering the role that personalized learning in our professional development plan, I will share your thoughts with my colleagues. Thank you for the reminder that like students, all adults do not learn the same way and therefore need a healthy balance of collaboration and isolation so that they can successfully and meaningfully continue down their path of continuous improvement.

    John Wink

  • Andrea Mack says:

    Really interesting and thought-provoking.

  • Claudine says:

    And as a teacher, to think about introvert students as well…

  • Kevin Zahner says:

    This post makes me feel normal. It's also encouraging me to reflect on my introverted students.

    Thanks John

    – Kevin

  • Unknown says:

    I guess that's why I am so exhausted everyday.

  • FINALLY – someone who speaks from MY heart! 🙂 Thank you for this post!!! It helps me to better-understand myself.

  • Whitney says:

    I am so grateful for this blog post. You've suggested a number of thoughtful solutions to issues I haven't yet been able to name or clearly articulate to my peers or superiors. I love what I do and have a hard time comprehending why I feel the way I do at the end of every day. I think I have normalized so many of the social discomforts I feel every day (and have felt for many years), forgetting that those small things add up to a lot more that I give them credit for. Naming those small changes that encroach on my personal time and the unintentional "devaluing" of my own ways of learning helps as I craft feedback for my school. Thank you for reminding me I am not alone and for offering up a jumping-off point for future conversations with students, friends, colleagues, and administrators!

  • Unknown says:

    Great article. I am actually not a teacher, but am an introvert who has worked in many extroverted professions, and I think your ideas are applicable across a spectrum of jobs. I especially loved this line: "Being an introvert is a bit like being an iPhone. You're packed with creative capacity but your battery life is woefully short." So, so true.

  • Thank you for contributing to the discourse on the extravert-introvert dynamic and the impact it has on teachers, students, and processes of education.

  • Lynda Thomas says:

    Thank you for this post. I am currently off of work, winning the battle against cancer. I have been contemplating a career change because the stress of teaching has become too much. I am just realizing that it is because I am pretty far on the introvert end of the introvert-extrovert continuum. It would be a shame for me to retire. I am a good teacher and I love it. Your post has given me some ideas for changes I can make in my practices that would not only benefit me, but would benefit my students and colleagues too.

  • Hi Spencer, you have written unique stuff and your suggestions are valuable. I am happy to read this post as a teacher.

  • Peggy says:

    Finally someone understands the aggression of extroversion that I feel every day at school and that wears me out. This year I decided to believe more in my quieter way. I teach in a gifted school where there are more introverts, but we are all harangued about 21st-century skills of collaboration. So tiresome. A frenetic pace is encouraged. Very stressful to student and teacher. Thoughtful, measured pacing is considered less than optimum. Wrong.

  • Ann says:

    Thank you — thank you. I have taught for years and dreaded the weekly Professional Development collaborative meetings that were required. No one could get out of them. I longed to do meaningful research for my classes, but had to wait until I got home, away from the meeting environment. The students were wonderful, but the inane meetings were all about common assessment. There was no way to be yourself or to experiment. I finally resigned my job and went back to school to finish the doctorate and now work in a college. The pay is not as good, but the freedom and independence is freeing in so many ways. I don’t have to pretend to like those cute little ice breaker games — making towers out of play dough and straws. Really!

  • John, I love this article so much. I am an aspiring teacher leader whose wish is to retain good teachers in the teacher fraternity and help them find joy in teaching. Thank you for opening my eyes to introverted teachers. 🙂

  • Tanya Blais says:

    I am an introvert who leads teacher professional development. That can be an oxymoron of sorts, right? I found this article so true and am navigating my way through honoring the introverts in a setting that is traditionally overly collaborative. Slowly, but surely, I am finding ways to accomplish this.

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