The bullies are crossing their fingers you'll turn around so they can pinch the do-gooders. The do-gooders are avidly waving their hands to answer your question. And the class clowns are acting like little monkeys until bullies and do-gooders are forced to crack a grin.

Meanwhile, the shy kids have curled into tiny balls and are doing their best to cram themselves into their desks.

Are we exaggerating? Maybe. Do we have a point? You better believe we do.

If you want to brush up on the place of introversion and extroversion in modern society, look no further than Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. One thing that Cain points out in her well-researched and insightful analysis is that introverts are often undervalued and overlooked.

And one place that happens fairly regularly? In schools.

Think about it.

• We tend to grade students on class participation, which often means higher marks for students who demonstrate their participation by contributing verbally to the class and by doing it often.
   
• We often place great emphasis on group work and collaboration, arranging desks in pods, encouraging students to be contributing members of a team (where there is no "I"), and sometimes even assuming that there's something wrong with students who prefer to work alone.
   
• Lunch tends to be a noisy, boisterous affair with few (if any) options for students to retreat to quiet spaces or sit alone without looking like a loner.
   
• The example from the beginning with the kids trying to fit into their desks. It may be just a metaphor, but hey, the struggle is real.

Of course, on occasion, the needs of the extroverts in your school may not be adequately met, either. Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) sessions or quiet study halls and in-class assignments that prohibit all forms of communication (including texting, IM, old-fashioned note writing, and the like) probably don't rank high on many extroverts' favorite-parts-of-the-day lists.

But let's get down to the science (well, social science) of it. As Cain points out in Quiet, and as many researchers have pointed out in the past, one of the main differences between introverts and extroverts is that extroverts draw energy from social interactions while introverts draw energy from internal reflection and quiet time.

So when a class focuses on group work, emphasizing discussions, peer feedback, and a lot of social interaction, the extroverts in the class will tend to gain energy and enthusiasm while the introverts find themselves increasingly drained.

And when a lesson's emphasis is on quiet reflection or individual research, the opposite is likely to occur: introverts will tend to thrive and blossom while extroverts may lose interest, become lethargic, or repeatedly get in trouble for talking, passing notes, or being otherwise off-task or disruptive.

Are we saying that no matter what activity you assign, someone is bound to be miserable?

Let's go with no.

And with that, onto solutions.

I before E, or E before I?

Come on, you knew we were gonna say neither.

Okay, so we'll admit that you won't ever be able to meet every student's needs on every occasion. (Seriously, you really have to let go of that perfectionist streak.) But there are steps you can take to make your classroom—and school—a place where both introverts and extroverts have equal opportunities to feel welcome, valued, and successful.

The People's Choice

Whenever possible, offer students the option of working in groups or individually on projects and assignments. Sure, extroverts should complete some assignments alone and introverts should occasionally collaborate.

But the more you allow students to work in the manner that best engages, inspires, and sustains them, the more likely they are put in their best efforts and produce their best results.

Adjust Your Mindset

It's easy to assume that students who are raising their hands and volunteering answers in class, or those who dominate small group discussions, are more engaged than those who are sitting quietly. But that just ain't the case.

According to Dr. Tami Isaacs (writing in an article for Magna Publications), extroverts process information quickly using their short-term memories while introverts tend to use recall stored in long-term memory to make deeper connections. Who knew?

Before you jump to judgments, listen to this: neither method is preferable. The study just shows that when a question is asked in class, an extrovert will often have a quick response and formulate ideas based on social interaction, while an introvert may take a bit longer to process and develop a response based on internal processes.

In other words, as Isaacs writes:

"In a lively classroom the extrovert appears excited by the discussion and eager to participate, while the introvert may seem unenthusiastic and unsociable. These perceptions are not presenting a complete picture of our students. The introvert is so busy reflecting on the ideas that it does not occur to him to volunteer to answer questions."

And that's why you need to change your mindset and reconsider the way you assess class participation. Participation, after all, isn't just about spouting off. It's also about showing up, coming to class prepared, being attentive, completing assignments on time, offering written comments on other students' work, being helpful, revising work, and doing one's best. Which an introvert can totally do without piping up all the time.

Change the Way You Moderate Class Discussions

Don't get us wrong. We love extroverts, and we want them to continue their participating prowess. We just want to give the introverts a chance to have their ideas heard, too. Here are few things you can do to help make that happen.

• Offer discussion questions in advance.
  When possible, give students a chance to prepare for class discussions by pre-circulating a list of questions or issues you plan to tackle in class.
   
• Establish this key rule for discussions.
  Here it is: "If you've contributed to the discussion, you can't speak again until someone else contributes." Isn't that just golden? In case that's too daunting, you can always amend it to "until two (or three, or more) other voices have been heard," or whatever is necessary to keep one or two students from monopolizing a conversation.
    
• Institute a moment of silence.
  After you ask a question you're hoping will stimulate class discussion, impose a waiting period. Tell students you're going to ask a question (or write one on the board), but that you want them to think before answering. Put on a timer and make them wait 60 seconds before anyone can speak. And watch those extroverts turn bright red trying to face the wait.
   
• Incorporate technology.
  Often referred to as "backchanneling," technology tools that allow students to weigh in on discussions digitally—both during and after the discussion—can give introverts a chance to comment in a digital space that may be more comfortable for them—not to mention more effective if their ideas arise upon reflection following a discussion. Today's Meet, Backchannel Chat, and Collaborize Classroom are three popular programs for this purpose.

Be Creative with Seating Arrangements

If at all possible (and we know classroom furniture can be a bit limiting), create spaces in your room to encourage both collaboration and independent work, and give all students equal opportunity to choose the spaces that work best for them from day to day. After all, most people are not purely extroverted or introverted; most of us possess a mix of both, and our needs can change depending on the circumstances or the assignment at hand.

If you do have the flexibility to change up your room's layout, place some desks in groups and others individually. You may even see if you can establish a quiet corner (or a special group work zone), by placing medium-height bookshelves perpendicular to the walls near a corner in a way that creates a space that is somewhat insulated from the rest of the class. This space could be used by a few individuals, a single soul, or a group that needs to interact while the rest of the class is doing individual work.

You're Off to a Great Start

Instituting a few of these ideas will get you off to a great start, but we know you. You're an overachiever. You want more.

For more strategies to optimize your classroom for both introverts and extroverts, check out:

• Susan Cain's TED Talk, "The Power of Introverts"
• "How to Teach a Young Introvert," a TED Ideas follow-up conversation with Cain
• TILT's excellent blog post, "Introverts — Extroverts"

And there you have it. What's most important is to remember that students learn in a variety of ways, and putting them in categorized boxes isn't going to help anybody.

Even the introvert who's secretly trying to hide in there.