Nice topic @
Yikes. Education fascinates me because there are so many challenges, but a lot of them can potentially be a good—if stressful—fit for an INFJ.
I'm not an actual teacher, but I've tutored college students for years in chemistry, often times in groups ranging from 10-30 people.
I think one of the major challenges I've had is accommodating the various learning types. It's a balance attempting to cultivate a learning environment that benefits factual and conceptual learners because their interests and approach differ quite significantly. I think this was particularly tough for me in teaching the sciences because that diversity of thought is generally more suited for the humanities (i.e., literature, art, etc.). Unfortunately, science tends to be a field where creativity is generally quashed in favor of rote memorization (the dreaded Si!) and "follow these steps and you can solve this problem."
Another problem with the education system I've noticed is that grades aren't necessarily indicative of how well a student understands the material. I've seen countless students who have a real, intuitive grasp of material—they can play with concepts, apply them, and have a dynamic understanding of a complex system—however they struggle not because of a "learning disability" (which many of them think they have, unfortunately), but because of the
way the education system asks questions. And conversely, if you make questions that appeal to intuitives, the factual learners may complain that it wasn't clearly stated (verbatim or explicitly) that such-and-such material was expected... even if the question is asking to apply a concept taught in class.
Those intuitive learners (a minority, I find), can think on their feet when it comes to systems or dynamics (they're very good at "figuring things out"), but struggle sorting out and memorizing information (classic example is anatomy... there's little to no rhyme or reason to it... it's almost purely Si-oriented rote memorization). And the problem is that a lot of educators favor that approach of objectively right-or-wrong answers or
memorize-this-table-of-information. The way material is presented in class also plays a role and again, I've found it to be a constant struggle to strike that balance of being cognizant of both factual and conceptual learning.
Is a student learning so that they can get the right answer on the test? Or so that they can have a dynamic understanding of the material? Unfortunately, those two don't always go hand-in-hand.
Learning style is also important. I think it's important to provide a variety in presentation that accommodates visual, kinesthetic, auditory, tactile, etc. styles. But, I also think it's important to present this variety in a way that seems harmonious (think of how an orchestra has many different types of instruments, but they harmonize). Students can get frustrated if the presentation seems disjointed.
I think @
INFJigsaw brings up a good point about planning... I've found it's important to have Ni do its thing, but too much planning can be calamitous if things don't go according to plan—there needs to be a balance between preparedness and spontaneity (improvising).
Another thing I've noticed is that there's different motivations among students. Some are in it mostly for the knowledge—they don't mind learning ancillary material so much. I've found the vast majority of students that have come to me for tutoring, however, go along the lines of:
Will this be on the test? What should I study for the test? Should I be studying this for the test?
I'm not a fan of grades (carrot or stick? I prefer neither), but I recognize there needs to be some sort of "check" to make sure students are learning the material. And what's important for the test depends on the teacher.
I would think one of the advantages of teaching humanities-based subjects, such as literature, is that there's a bit more freedom of thought and that's something I'd really encourage. But that can be a double-edged sword because even though there's greater subjectivity, that also means that grades are more disputable (for those students that are soooo obsessed with grades). But just because there's subjectivity doesn't mean there's no difference between a well-thought articulate argument and a very bare-bones paper. I would definitely try to make any critique/feedback
thorough and personalized to each student.
I dunno, teaching is tough and you guys are (mostly) unsung heroes. I found it extremely difficult (impossible?) to please everyone, but when things click and that student has that EUREKA moment... totally makes the struggle worth it, I've found.