Brandon Qu

Shaping School Environment for Introvert Success

Started Dec. 17, 2025

Abstract or project description

This study investigated how teachers at a public high school ranked in the top 5% in California identify and support introverted students in their classrooms, both academically and socially. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with high school teachers to identify the most important research-based supportive practices in their experience. These interviews focused on instructional decision-making, perceptions of introverted students, and strategies currently used to foster inclusive participation. Particular attention was given to teachers’ use of environmental design, instructional scaffolding, relationship-building practices, and socio-emotional responsiveness as mechanisms for identifying and supporting introverted students within the constraints of relatively large class sizes of approximately 30 or more students. The study also explores how teachers approached instructional strategies, including small-group and pair work, graduated participation structures, alternative and flexible assessment formats, and deliberate one-on-one check-ins, which they believe influenced their engagement and/or that of introverted students. Findings suggest that teachers believe creating psychologically safe classroom environments, building genuine personal connections with students, and scaffolding participation incrementally can improve introverted students’ academic engagement, social confidence, and willingness to participate over the course of a school year. Ultimately, the study proposes that effective support for introverted students is not the product of any single strategy but rather the cumulative effect of a relational, adaptive, and structurally intentional classroom environment in which safety, trust, and graduated challenge work in concert, and that large class sizes represent a systemic barrier that disproportionately undermines teachers’ ability to implement these practices equitably.