Teaching Style Categories
Formal Authority
Teachers who have a formal authority teaching style tend to focus on content. This style is generally teacher-centered, where the teacher feels responsible for providing and controlling the flow of the content and the student is expected to receive the content.
One type of statement made by an instructor with this teaching style is “I am the flashlight for my students, I illuminate the content and materials so that my students can see the importance of the material and appreciate the discipline.”
Teachers with this teaching style are not as concerned with building relationships with their students nor is it as important that their students form relationships with other students. This type of teacher doesn’t usually require much student participation in class. “Sage on the stage” model.
Demonstrator or Personal Model
Teachers who have a demonstrator or personal model teaching style tend to run teacher-centered classes with an emphasis on demonstration and modeling. This type of teacher acts as a role-model by demonstrating skills and processes and then as a coach/guide in helping students develop and apply these skills and knowledge.
A teacher with this type of teaching style might comment: “I show my students how to properly do a task or work through a problem and then I’ll help them master the task or problem solution. It’s important that my students can independently solve similar problems by using and adapting demonstrated methods.”
Instructors with this teaching style are interested in encouraging student participation and adapting their presentation to include various learning styles. Students are expected to take some responsibility for learning what they need to know and for asking for help when they don’t understand something.
Teachers who have a facilitator model teaching style tend to focus on activities. This teaching style emphasizes student-centered learning and there is much more responsibility placed on the students to take the initiative for meeting the demands of various learning tasks.
This type of teaching style works best for students who are comfortable with independent learning and who can actively participate and collaborate with other students.
Teachers typically design group activities which necessitate active learning, student-to-student collaboration and problem solving. This type of teacher will often try to design learning situations and activities that require student processing and application of course content in creative and original ways.
Teachers who have a delegator teaching style tend to place much control and responsibility for learning on individuals or groups of students.
This type of teacher will often give students a choice designing and implementing their own complex learning projects and will act in a consultative role.
Students are often asked to work independently or in groups and must be able to maintain motivation and focus for complex projects. Students working in this type of setting learn more than just course specific topics as they also must be able to effectively work in group situations and manage various interpersonal roles.
Quiz Interpretation
- Do you find your teaching style:
a. This indicates a formal authority teaching style and you may find teaching online quite challenging as many of your learners will have individual needs and expectations of instructor flexibility.
b. This indicates a demonstrator or personal teaching style. You will probably feel most comfortable teaching online if you can clearly demonstrate how the various steps lead to successful performance or analysis and then provide an opportunity for your students to apply the knowledge or skills.
c. This indicates a facilitator approach to teaching. You probably try to plan your lessons and educational activities with a clear view to enabling your students.
d. This indicates a delegator approach to teaching and can be very effective for teaching online adult students. This type of teaching style focuses on the personal growth of the learner and is very much learner-centered. The delegator teaching style works well for students who are independent and motivated learners but may cause some anxiety for students who are used to well-defined guidelines.
2. Which of the following do you like to use when evaluating student learning?
a. This type of evaluation indicates a formal authority teaching style where the educational experience tends to be teacher-centered.
b. This type of evaluation indicates a demonstrator teaching style in that you like to provide your students with lots of opportunities to demonstrate and reflect upon their knowledge. Instead of drill and kill this type of instructor thinks of quizzes and self-assessment opportunities as drill and thrill. This teaching style is also, along with a formal authority teaching style, somewhat teacher-centered.
c. Using performance based criteria for evaluating students indicates a facilitator teaching style. Teachers with this type of teaching style will often ask students to develop practical applications. The goal of evaluation is often to enable the student to evaluate their own learning abilities.
d. This type of evaluation indicates a delegator teaching style. Evaluation is often of the formative type where learners receive feedback during the development of a project.
3. When planning lessons you prefer to have:
a. This indicates a formal authority teaching style. You might find teaching online quite challenging as this type of learning is based much more on interacting with the students on an individual basis.
b. This indicates a demonstrator teaching style. You might find including audio or video an asset to online teaching in that you could include role playing examples for your learners to listen to or view.
c. This indicates a facilitator teaching style. Creating peer tutoring groups can be accomplished in many ways in an online environment. One possible method is to set up small working groups and to use online communication tools (e.g. discussion forums, chat rooms, etc.) so that learners can help and tutor each other.
d. This indicates a delegator teaching style. While sometimes harder to create in an online environment, brainstorming and other forms of synchronous group work is possible. Check out our web pages that discuss online communication for some ideas.
4. When you teach face to face, your instructional time includes
a. This indicates a formal authority teaching style. You are probably most comfortable when you provide teacher-centered instruction.
b. This indicates a demonstrator teaching style. You might find including audio or video an asset to online teaching in that you can use these types of media to demonstrate to your students. There are many demonstrations available on the Web. Try searching the Web for demonstration activities in your field.
c. This indicates a facilitator teaching style. Learn how to search and use Web resources to include a multitude of relevant media examples for your online learners. One caution is to be aware of the connection speed (bandwidth) of your end user when including media-rich components to your online courses. Check out your library facilities to see if some materials can be loaned to your students (videos and films may still be possible).
d. This indicates a delegator teaching style. Online communication and collaborative tools continue to develop and improve. There are many examples of cooperative and collaborative web activities under the Tips and Strategies section of this web site.
5. You believe in teaching by
a. This indicates a formal authority teaching style. You probably like to present very clear information to your students and feel that your students can get most of the skills and information they need by listening to and understanding your lectures and materials. You probably spend a great deal of time keeping current in your field and writing clear lectures for presentation.
b. This indicates a demonstrator teaching style. Some online teachers have found they can provide personal examples and model behavior and analysis by incorporating audio (hear some sample audio clips from our audio web page) or linking to samples or prototypes.
c. This indicates a facilitator teaching style. Communication between learner and teacher is very important and should be a critical part of your online teaching. However, be careful in the online setting. If you feel you need to be in the middle of every conversation or must participate in every discussion you may find you are tied to your computer and start resenting the increased demand on your time. Many online instructors find that by allowing student to student discussion and communication that they do not need to be involved in every aspect of every discussion.
d. This indicates a delegator teaching style. This teaching style is well suited for teaching adults in an online setting. Because of the nature of online communication (email and discussion boards, for example), you will be able to answer individual or group questions as they arise.
6. One of your goals is to have your student
a. This indicates a formal authority teaching style. You probably like to be in control of the teaching and learning environment. You may find moving to a more learner-centered and learner-controlled situation difficult. The adjustment to online teaching where the teacher has diminished control over the learning environment might be quite stressful.
b. This indicates a demonstrator teaching style. This teaching style is still quite teacher-centered and you may have some difficulty adjusting to the online environment where you do not have direct and immediate access to your learners and their responses to your demonstrations. Using an online chat-room or some other synchronous communication tool might allow you to question your students regarding their understanding of online demonstrations and other course content.
c. This indicates a facilitator teaching style. This is a learner-centered teaching style that is very compatible with teaching adults online. One challenge may be to bring your learners together in learning groups so that learner-to-learner communication and collaboration occurs.
d. This indicates a delegator teaching style. This teaching style is well suited for teaching adults in an online setting. This style works well for independent learners but you will probably still need to provide some structure for your online learners.
7. One advantage of your teaching style is that it
a. This indicates a formal authority teaching style. Providing your learners with learning options that encompass each of the teaching styles may give them a new way of understanding not only the course materials but how to learn.
b. This indicates a demonstrator teaching style. Providing your learners with learning options that encompass each of the teaching styles may give them a new way of understanding not only the course materials but how to learn.
c. This indicates a facilitator teaching style. Providing your learners with learning options that encompass each of the teaching styles may give them a new way of understanding not only the course materials but how to learn.
d. This indicates a delegator teaching style. Providing your learners with learning options that encompass each of the teaching styles may give them a new way of understanding not only the course materials but how to learn.
8. Assignments given to students are usually based on
a. This indicates a formal authority teaching style. This approach to teaching generally focuses on content where the instructor defines the relevant and important material for students to learn and carefully sets clear goals, objectives and activities to provide a structured framework from within which students work through course materials.
b. This indicates a demonstrator teaching style. Instructors with this teaching style generally focus on demonstrating to students the accepted method (steps) for performing a task or skill. Students are then given similar tasks to accomplish and the level of mastery acceptable for successful completion. The instructor usually gives the students enough information so that the student can evaluate their own performance (level of mastery) for each step of the task. Formative evaluation and constructive feedback are essential elements of the demonstrator style where the goal is for students to master a task or skill.
c. This indicates a facilitator teaching style where formative evaluation and student reflection are essential elements. A principle goal of the facilitator is to enable students to become skilled at self-evaluation and be able to use their evaluations to improve their learning.
d. This indicates a delegator teaching style. For delegators the activities the learners participate in are integral to the academic work. The social relationships between the learner, the teacher and other students are as important as the end product. Problem solving tasks and other challenges that require research of the course materials, interaction with other students and cooperative solutions are typical elements of a delegator’s assignment. As with the facilitator teaching style, the goal of enabling students to become skilled at self-evaluation and critical reflection is a critical element of the delegator teaching style.
9. Your teaching style develops a rhythm which contains
a. This indicates a formal authority teaching style. Providing your learners with learning options that encompass each of the teaching styles may give them a new way of understanding not only the course materials but also how to learn.
b. This indicates a demonstrator teaching style. Providing your learners with learning options that encompass each of the teaching styles may give them a new way of understanding not only the course materials but also how to learn.
c. This indicates a facilitator teaching style. Providing your learners with learning options that encompass each of the teaching styles may give them a new way of understanding not only the course materials but also how to learn.
d. This indicates a delegator teaching style. Providing your learners with learning options that encompass each of the teaching styles may give them a new way of understanding not only the course materials but also how to learn.
Divyesh Bhatt
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