Unit 2 Competency 1 - Differentiate between various learning styles, personality traits, and leadership styles found within the classroom and the workplace.

Suggested Objectives a and b: Complete a Learning Styles Inventory and Identify Forces that Shape Personality Development Including Personality Traits, Heredity, and Environment

Did you know there are many ways for a person to learn? In fact Scholastic Links to an external site.reports 8 different ways for a person to learn. Click the Scholastic Links to an external site. link to see which intelligence is most like you. Most people are a combination of several of these areas. However, one style is generally more dominant than the others.

Linguistic - these learners are sensitive "to the meaning and order of words. These children use an expanded vocabulary and usually like to tell jokes, riddles, or puns; read, write, tell stories, and play word games."

Logical-mathematical - these learners have "the ability to handle chains of reasoning and to recognize patterns and order. These learners enjoy working with numbers, want to know how things work, ask lots of questions, and collect items and keep track of their collections."

Bodily-kinesthetic - these learners have "the ability to use the body skillfully and to handle objects adroitly. Kinesthetic learns enjoy sports and love to be physically active. They tend to use body language, dance, act, or engage in mime."

Musical - these learners have "sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm and tone. These children love to listen to and play music, sing, hum, move to the rhythm, and create and replicate tunes."

Spatial - these learners have "the ability to perceive the world accurately and to recreate or transform aspects of that world. These learners doodle, paint, draw, and build with blocks; enjoy looking at maps, doing puzzles and mazes; they can take things apart and put them back together."

Naturalist - these learners are good at "recognizing and classifying the numerous species, the flora and fauna, of an environment. These kids like to spend time outdoors observing plants, collecting rocks, and catching insects, and are attuned to relationships in nature."

Interpersonal - these learners are good at "understanding people and relationships. These children have many friends and tend to mediate between them and to be excellent team players."

Intrapersonal - these learners have "the ability to use one's emotional life as a means to understand oneself and others. Children with this type of intelligence control their own feelings and moods and often observe and listen. They do best when working alone."

Multiple Intelligences Links to an external site.

Let's learn what your strengths are. Click the link to take Find Your Strengths Links to an external site. assessment. Answer the questions honestly. Do not ponder long on them. Your first reaction is generally the most accurate, honest answer. Once you answer the questions, submit and read about your strengths. Write down the results. You will send those to me in an upcoming assignment.

We have looked at your your intelligence and how you learn best. Let's investigate your personality type now. Click the Jung Typology Test Links to an external site. link and answer the questions. Again, read the questions carefully and go with your first reaction. It is usually the most accurate, honest answer. When you have answered all of the questions, record your results. Four letters will appear and represent your personality. You will submit this to me in an upcoming assignment. The video below will help you understand what the four letters mean.

Discovery Your Personality Type|Myers Briggs Links to an external site.

Profiles of the Sixteen Personality Types Links to an external site.has information for each personality type. Click the link to for each of the personality types. Does the information for your personality type seem accurate? What about the other personality types? Were they completely unlike you or somewhat similar? Think about these questions because we will be discussing them soon!

Your personality traits and intelligence type affects your relationships in the classroom. It determines how you learn material and can assist you and me to ensure your success with learning class material. This information also can aid us with knowing how you best function and interact with others. Understanding yourself and your classmates' behaviors and actions can enable all of us to work successfully together in the classroom and develop great working relationships to ensure that everyone learns and achieves.

Suggested Objective c: Identify the Qualities of an Effective Leader

What Makes an Effective Leader Links to an external site. from the University of Notre Dame Links to an external site. is a short little article that discusses several leadership qualities people need. They include self-assessment, sharp perception, responsiveness to group need, and team building skills. Look at this and note which qualities you feel you have and the qualities that you need to improve.

Leadership Getting It Done Links to an external site. from the University of Missouri Links to an external site. lists many "P" characteristics an effective leader should have. These traits include personality, persuasiveness, persistence, patience, perception, probity, praise giving, positive orientation, people skills, possibilities, practicalness, progressiveness, preparedness, and power-building. Look at this article and read the information on "P" characteristics for effective leadership.

Top 10 Characteristics of a Leader Links to an external site.

Suggested Objective d: Develop Leadership Skills

True leaders share many similar qualities. Some character traits of leaders include honesty, strong sense of responsibility, visiion, persistence, intelligence, and competence or capability. These are just a few of the many characteristics a leader must possess. A true leader is like a column standing straight and tall - similar to the columns on the New York City courthouse displayed above. Can you think of other characteristics? Let's look at a few videos that discuss leadership skills. Not all videos may mention exactly the same ideas you state. This does NOT mean your characteric is incorrect!

Leadership Skills - Leadership Training - Characteristics of a Great Leader Links to an external site.

True leaders have obstacles they must aid a group with overcoming. The Ethics of Teamwork by William Frey gives 7 obstacles a leader must help a group overcome. Some obstacles or barriers to a successful group include the following:

Abilene Paradox - Failure to communicate within the group - no one speaks up
Groupthik - no one in the group will openly question the rightness of a situation - the entire group will follow the "the party line while happily marching off the cliff, all the while blaming 'them' (outsiders) for the height and situation of the cliff."
Group Polarization - a group allows their individual differences to become disagreements
Free Riders - people in a group who do not work or do their share of the work and allow the others in the group to do everything
Outliers - these people want to work but do not integrate into the group and require encouragement to participate because they are shy or something
Hidden Agendas - this situation arises generally when someone in the group holds back for some reason. They may have been "shot down" in another situation and now believes it is best to stay quiet and let the others "figure it out without me."
Conflict of Effort - these group members are overbooked generally and cnnot participate as fully or provide the quality of effort that would normally be given.

A good leader can try some of the following practices to assist groups with overcoming barriers like those mentioned above.

Conduct anonymous surveys asking participants for input on the project

Assign someone the role of "Devil's Advocate"

Allow group members, when possible, to work in areas that interest them

Brainstorm ideas for overcoming obstacles and have everyone provide input and set a course of action

Obtain input from all stakeholders in the process or activity

Teamwork Funny Links to an external site.

Funny Motivational Speaker | Teamwork - Engagement | Jon Petz Links to an external site.

What did you notice in the videos above? Were there similarities in the group actions? Yes, they were funny; but you were to look beyond and find the traits that made the groups successful. Did you find them?

Suggested Objective e: Discuss Strategies People Can Use to Work Effectively with One Another Regardless

of Their DIfferences

Conflict Resolution Resolving Conflict Rationally and Effectively Links to an external site. provides information regarding conflict styles. It is important to realize what style of personality you have so that you can manage your behavior as well as effectively work with others around you. This knowledge of conflict styles can help you understand why others react the way they do in tense situations. Are you competitive, collaborative, compromising, accommodating, or avoiding? Also understand your reason for approaching situations as you do. In other words, do you try to maintain relationships with others or not? Think about what the article says and watch the video on the page as well.

Look at Conflict Management Strategies and Styles Links to an external site.. This site repeats some of the information from the site just prior to this. However, it has some cute pictures to represent the various styles. Also, the site promotes the positive effects from the different styles and negative aspects for a particular style and situation.

Conflict Resolution Strategies Links to an external site.

Conflict Resolution Links to an external site.

Is this next video an effective way to handle conflict?

Conflict Resolution - The Waterboy Links to an external site.