What is a PLN?
A PLN is a professional learning network. This network is other people you can collaborate with, share resources with, and learn with to strengthen your role in your profession. Your professional learning network can be a variety of people. They don’t always have to be who you work with. They can be those you follow on X or teachers you share resources with on a Facebook group. If you are interested in reading more about my experience with PLN’s check out a previous blog post.
Everyone brings something different to their PLNs. I decided to take some different personality tests to see what I contribute and also what I can strengthen to make myself a better teammate.
Personality Test #1
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| Source: FiveFactorTest |
The first personality test I took was the “Five Factor Test”. This test was broken into five different categories: extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism. My highest area with a score of 90% was agreeableness. The five factor test describes this as someone who is considerate, friendly, helpful, and gets along well with others (Five Factor Test, 2024). Scoring high in this area did not surprise me as I am someone who fits right into any team I am put on. I am always the first one to offer to help others. However it being the highest did catch me off guard. I would have thought conscientiousness would have been my highest. Conscientiousness is described as someone who is well planned and organized. I feel that I am a very organized person. I am a to-do list queen. I like having things planned out so I am surprised that I didn't show more through this personality test. Lastly, I scored the lowest in neuroticism. This does not mean this is my area for improvement. The Five Factor Test says that when you score low in that area it means you are someone who does not get upset easily and you are just easygoing. This is something I also agree with. I try not to let things upset me that are out of my control.
Personality Test #2
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| Source: My-Personality-Test |
The second personality test I took was "My Personality Test". This test was broken down into four categories: extraverted, sensing, thinking and perceiving. My highest area was sensing. This area is associated with being detailed oriented and practical. Like I mentioned in the previous personality test, I am someone who is a planner therefore, I do pay attention to details. Therefore, this area of strength is very fitting for me. I also scored the lowest in extraverted. This is also not surprising. I do not describe myself as someone who is outgoing. I tend to keep myself however I am a team player and will make sure what needs to be done is done. "My Personality Test" left me with this quote that I want to share because I feel they described me spot on - "You have initiative, and others often describe you as a “doer”. You are very competitive and you’re always pushing yourself to be the best. This helps you become very successful in life, particularly in your career" (My Personality Test, 2020). I am defiantly someone who will always help and "do" what is needed. I push myself to be my best, in every aspect of my life, not just in teaching. I also am guilty of being a competitive person.
Personality Test #3
The last personality test I took was by MindTools and it was called "What is Your Leadership Style?". I choose to take this test because I have always considered myself a leader. I always seems to find myself in leadership roles going back all the way to high school. Therefore, I was curious to see what my leadership style is. This test gave you an overall score if you answered 12 questions. Your score then told you the type of leadership style you have. The leadership style I was given was democratic or participative. This style means I am a leader who will support my team but I like to make the final decisions. I look to my team for their input to help me make my decisions however having teammates with differing opinions can be something I struggle with. This absolutely sounds like the type of leader I am. I look to others for their input however in the end, I use what they have shared with me to make an informed decision. Something that surprised me was the mention of teammates having different opinions. I value when others have different opinions because it brings more perspective to decisions. As long as the difference of opinions do not cause any issues, I think they should be embraced. And if issues do arise, as a leader one should know how to handle that situation.
My Contribution to My PLNs
After taking these personality tests there are a few things that are a common thread that I definitely bring to the PLNs that I am a part of.
1. I am a detail oriented person. I am a planner and think about all the finer details.
2. I am a "doer". I am always the first person to volunteer to help or take the lead on something.
3. I have the ability to be a leader based on the traits above. My leadership style would be sure to include my teammates and their ideas.
What Can I Strengthen?
One thing that I know about myself is I am someone who likes to get comfortable with those that are in my "PLN Bubble". I tend to stick with those that are in my immediate team at my school because it is what I am comfortable with. Something that I would like to do is expand my professional learning network and get out of my comfort zone.
1. Seek Out Professional Development
Don't get me wrong, I attend professional developments. However, they are usually the ones I am more so "voluntold" to attend. I never really seek professional development that I am interested in or that caters to my specific class. Therefore, one thing I would like do is find professional development that is of interest to me. I would like to find one to two a year. I would love to find something specific to small group reading or math instruction. My district loves to send teachers to conferences, all they have to do is put in a request. From the professional developments, I would then be able to expand my PLN by making connections at the PD. I would like to attend one professional development before December 20th and the second before May 23rd. That would come out to about one a semester.
2. Share More
As a sixth year teacher, I do feel like I have valuable information and insight that I can share with others. I do have a teacher Twitter/X account and Instagram but I don't really use it as much. I would like to do a better job sharing things I do in my classroom for others to see and add to their own PLN. I have a goal for myself to get back to sharing on my teacher Twitter/X account at least once a week starting in quarter two the week of October 16th.
3. Collaborate
As I shared before, I am very comfy with those on my immediate fourth grade team. We share resources and collaborate all the time. However, I am guilty of not really utilizing others in my building for resources. We have a literacy coach, technology coach, differentiation specialist, and interventionist in out building. I want to seem like I have everything handled and I don't need any "help" but that is exactly what these individuals are there for. Therefore, a last goal I have for myself is expanding my PLN in my own school and working with teachers outside of my team. My first action I would like to implement is collaborating with the literacy coach to plan guided reading groups and meet the needs of all my students. I will begin by reaching out to her this upcoming to set up an action plan.
Resources
Five factor test. Psychologist World. (n.d.). https://www.psychologistworld.com/influence-personality/five-factor-test/
, My Personality Test. (2020, March 8). Personality type indicator. https://my-personality-test.com/personality-type-indicator
What’s Your Leadership Style? MindTools. (n.d.). https://www.mindtools.com/azr30oh/whats-your-leadership-style
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