Understanding the Big Five
Personality Traits:
Guide for teachers
Darwin C. Macalanda, PhD, Rpsy, Rpm
Dean, College of Psychology
Ago Medical and Educational Center
June 15, 2017
• The Big Five personality traits, also
known as the five factor model (FFM),
is a model based on common language
descriptors of personality (Costa and
McCrae, 1987)
• This widely examined theory suggests
five broad dimensions to describe the
human personality and psyche.
• The five factors are often listed under
the acronyms OCEAN or CANOE.
Employees are assessed on the Big Five
personality traits in collaborative situations to
determine what strong personality traits they
can add to a group dynamic.
Organizations need to understand their people
as well as their operations and processes.
Understanding the personality components that
drive the employee behavior is a very
useful informational data point for management.
Interpreting your Five Personality Traits
28 – 40 (High)
13 – 27 (Average)
1 – 12 (Low)
Sensitive, emotional, and prone Generally calm and able to deal with Secure, hardy, and generally
relaxed, even under
Neuroticism to experience feelings that are stress, but you sometimes
upsetting
experience guilt, anger, or sadness. stressful conditions.
Introverted, reserved, and
Extraverted, outgoing, active, and Moderate in activity and enthusiasm.
serious. You prefer to be
high
–
spirited.
You
prefer
to
be
You
enjoy
the
company
of
others,
Extraversion
alone or with a few close
around people most of the time. but you also value privacy.
friends.
Openess to Open to new experiences. You Practical, but willing to consider new Down – to – earth, practical,
have broad interests and are
things. You seek a balance between traditional, and pretty much
Experience very imaginative.
the old and the new.
set in your ways.
Hard – headed, skeptical,
Compassionate, good – natured, Generally, warm, trusting, and
Aggreeableproud, and competitive. You
and eager to cooperate and
agreeable, but you can sometimes
tend to express your anger
ness
avoid conflict.
be stubborn and competitive.
directly.
Conscientious and wellDependable and moderately well – Easygoing, not very well –
Cautious- organized. You have high
organized. You generally have clear organized, and sometimes
standards and always strive to
goals, but are able to set your work careless. You prefer not to
ness
achieve your goals.
aside.
make plans.
The Big Five Personality
High
High
High
High
Teaching Excellence
Low
Factor I: Extraversion
Extraversion reflects how energetically we engage with the outside world. In
other words, it determines how much we enjoy being with people and how often
we experience positive emotions.
• High Scores
• Initiate and maintain
communication at every possible
opportunity (e.g., before-class
chats)
• Project a forceful, enthusiastic,
persuasive style (e.g., “pep
talks”)
• Stimulate active interaction
during the lecture hour (e.g.,
“show of hands”)
• Low Scores
• Minimize social interaction as much as
possible (e.g., habitually arriving late and
leaving early)
• Speak in a nearly inaudible monotone:
“A professor is one who talks in someone
else’s sleep”
• Reduce the amount of in-class
instruction by delivering abbreviated
lectures or by “putting the lectures on
the web”
Problem:
Very high extraversion can
be negative if it means that
the teacher is
confrontational and
domineering - the “in your
face” instructor.
Hence the need to couple it
with the next factor:
Factor II: Agreeableness
Agreeableness indicates the extent to which we value getting along with others.
Agreeable people are considerate, generous and willing to compromise their
interests for others. Of course at the extreme this can make you overly trusting
or unwilling to make tough decisions that affect others.
• High Scores
• Introduce themselves before the first
day of class by sending a “warm and
fuzzy” to everyone enrolled
• Learn students’ names and use them
at every opportunity
• Hold liberal and flexible office hours,
even adopting the “open door” policy
• Low Scores
• Make it known early how much they
hate teaching and would rather be
making more constructive use of their
valuable time
• Hold minimal office hours at
inconvenient times that are often
canceled without notice
• Respond to questions in a hostile,
intimidating manner, both in class and
during office hours (“What’s your
problem? “Didn’t get it the first
time?”)
Problem
Agreeable extraversion not sufficient
either; the “nice person, but can’t
teach” phenomenon is not good
because he or she violates the students’
expectations about the instructor’s
responsibilities
Factor III: Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness deals with your organizational skills and self-discipline.
People with high conscientiousness are methodical, composed and think before
they act, while people with low conscientiousness tend to act on impulse.
• High Scores
• Prepare the course well before
the onset of classes (textbook,
syllabus, website, etc.)
• Extensively plan and rehearse
for each lecture (including
audiovisuals)
• Are careful and methodical in
the preparation of examination
materials, even when using
textbook-prepared questions
• Low Scores
• Make woefully incompetent
textbook choices
• Prepare horribly inadequate
syllabi, if they do so at all
• Come totally unprepared for
lectures
• Display the most minimal regard
for test construction or the
evaluation of test performance
Problem:
Conscientiousness can go too far, however, if it
has any hint of obsessive-compulsive behavior, a
possible manifestation of ...
Factor IV: Neuroticism
Neuroticism is about responding emotionally to events, and the intensity of
those reactions. The higher the level of neuroticism, the more persistent and
intense the response will be. This also relates to general levels of anxiety and
self-consciousness.
• High Scores
• May display extreme anxiety, to the
point of incapacitating panic attacks
• May display hypochondriasis
• May display extreme ego-defensiveness
so that the smallest question becomes a
major personal challenge that must be
nipped in the bud
• May display extremely inflexible and
black-and-white attitudes and behavior
• Low Scores
• Relaxed, easy-going even under
unexpected surprises or mistakes
• Not defensive, even in response to
deliberately hostile students
• Flexible, within the limits of instructor
responsibilities
Teachers who are extraverted, agreeable, conscientious,
and non-neurotic are very good teachers, but to be a truly
great teacher requires one thing more ...
Factor V: Openness to Experience
Openness reflects your willingness to embrace new and unusual experiences.
It’s a measure of how imaginative and creative you are, as opposed to how down
to-earth and conventional.
• High Scores
• Make constant connections between
course topics and ideas in other courses
and disciplines
• Make ample use of cartoons, newspaper
clippings, websites, movies, TV shows,
songs, T-shirts, and ties to make
connections to the world outside the
classroom
• Low Scores
• Insist on an extremely narrow
treatment of the subject with
respect to the choice of textbook
and lecture topics
• Respond negatively to student
questions that try to make
connections to the outside world
Attitude Matters
The 100% accounted behavior is based
from the equation:
90% - our action
10% - situation
The things we do for
ourselves, when we
are gone is gone.
The things we do for
our students when
we are gone, remains
a legacy.
Hardwork is better than knowledge;
Attitude is the best;
but nothing beats the Love of God