The Effect of Personality Types on ESL University Lecturers’ Creativity in Using Instructional Techniques for Online Education in Malaysian Higher Education Institutes

Abstract

In response to recent shifts towards online instruction in the wake of the post- pandemic era, this study investigates the impact of personality types on ESL university lecturers' choice of instructional techniques. Specifically, it explores how personality traits influence lecturers' creativity in selecting instructional approaches during the post-pandemic era. One hundred ESL university lecturers from some Malaysian university participated in this research. A Big Five Scale (BFS) Questionnaire adapted from Costa and McCrae (1995) was used as a data collection method to measure the personality traits of extraversion/introversion. In addition, semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted via Adobe Connect online software was employed. Descriptive statistics were applied to the questionnaire data using SPSS version 21, while thematic analysis, following Braun and Clarke's (2006) procedures, was employed for the interview transcripts. The findings reveal associations between personality traits and instructional preferences. More specifically, introverted lecturers tend to use more creativity in choosing instructional techniques than extroverted lecturers. They mostly tend to use techniques related to critical thinking, such as gamification, puzzle creating, reflection-based teaching, problem-solving, questioning and answering, and debating techniques