Recently I read a New York Times bestseller book called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. The book touched upon different approaches introverts and extrovert apply in communicating, in dealing with various situations and particularly in learning.  As I read the book it became clear to me how my introvert self affects my learning style.  I remember the time when I first came to the US 20 years ago to pursue a master’s degree at UF.  During a graduate course a professor commented that when I did not participate in the class discussion, I was stealing from my fellow classmates.  What a shocking comment to hear!  As an introvert growing up in the Thai society where listening is more valued than talking back especially to the authoritative figure such as your teachers or the elderly, hearing that comment totally threw me off.

Fast forward.  Today the technology gives us online classes.  What a heaven for an introvert.  Now I can contribute freely in the discussion boards, comfortably participate in a chat room, and ask questions or make comments without being interrupted by loud speaking or aggressive classmates.  Since I feel more comfortable typing than speaking, I feel even more freedom doing so.  If the development of ideas or thinking process is an ultimate goal in learning, the way to express those ideas or develop our thinking should not obscure the instructors’ judgement of the students’ ability or characters.  How to communicate should be secondary to the content itself.  Group discussions in a live class have their benefits and a place of their own for several instructors and especially students who are highly articulate, who enjoy high interaction, and who love group dynamics.

To me technology-enabled learning such as online classes or social media gives us a tool to voice our ideas and formulate our thinking the way we feel comfortable with.  Since we introverts tend to think thoroughly before we speak, virtual environment like online classes gives us time to carefully process our thoughts instead of being distracted by the timing of live discussions such as when to speak, when to wait for someone else to finish, when we should (or should not) interrupt someone.  These alone distract us from the ideas we would like to share, let along to verbalize them.

As the Buddha said, “Take the middle road.”  Since humans are social being, we certainly cannot discount the value of a live interaction, however, we should provide room or an alternative to those who do not fit in the mainstream method of communication.  A study shows at least one-third of the population are introverts.  As the minority I feel grateful technology gives us a chance (and plenty of air time) to communicate at our own pace in our own way, and to have our voice heard in this extrovert-dominated society.