What type of teacher are you and what is your teaching and classroom management style. There are teachers that are very effective and produce high flying students. There are others that are feared like a military dictator and you can hear a pin drop in the classroom and yet, the students are just average. As a Teacher, how can you improve: be loved by your students, and yet achieve outstanding result in the success rate of your Class? Much depends on the type of Teacher that you and on your teaching style. Read on.
TYPES OF TEACHERS
What type of teacher are you?
A Detached Teacher? A detached teacher is a non committed teacher. He or she is an I-don’t-care teacher or at best cares less about the students’, the class and the subject. He is not sensitive to the disciplinary needs and problems of his students and does not care about the students’ grades. The detached teacher has no emotional attachment or support to his students. A detached teacher is not passionate about her job and students and is aloft to goings on in the class. She would of course, occasionally raise her voice and attempt to correct the students but is more comfortable at his seat. He or she has no behavioral management of students and students are more on less on their own. Another feature of the detached teacher is that such a teacher would be busy during class marking or grading or doing some other things rather than paying attention and attending to the individual needs of the students. The detached teacher makes little no effort at personal improvement.
A Permissive Teacher ? The permissive teacher is afraid of administering punishments, enforcing rules and thus is a “merry-good-fellow” by students. Such a teacher is more interested of been in the good books of the students and does not want to be called names. Such teachers may have skeletons in their cupboards, or are not so good at their subjects or may have inferiority complex or lack self confidence. The permissive teacher may try sometimes to enforce discipline but lacks the moral fiber to do so and may not have any clear cut method of enforcing rules of student and or class behavior. The permissive teacher by nature cannot handle difficult issues and would most often procrastinate or bulk pass issues. When difficulties arise, the strategy of the permissive teacher is to try to buy some time, or ask the students to seek answers themselves or simply don’t’ worry we shall see… and things gets abandoned that students realize that for solutions they must seek it out themselves.
An Authoritarian Teacher? This one is a dictator and his rules must be obeyed to the letter. When students fail to obey, the result is straight discipline of one sort or the other including yelling and screaming at the student and or class. The authoritarian teacher keeps a watchful eye on almost everything and makes rules on almost everything. Any slight deviation from what he expects meets up with another “booking” or discipline. The tools of the authoritarian teacher are discipline, flogging, yelling/screaming and mean looks. Students dread this kind of teacher and would do everything to appease him and thus avoid any of those disciplines and screaming.
A Diligent Teacher? This is the real teacher. The Diligent teacher prepares for the class each day, has an orderly routine, is well-mannered and has a strong spirit of discipline and caring attitude. As a result, his or her class is orderly and student’s freely approach him for solutions to their problems as they find him or her very supportive. The Diligent teacher is very passionate about his job, his students and the entire class and maintains good behavioral management. He is emotionally stable and treats each student as a person and is interested in their success.
Which of the above categories do you fall into? Send comments to teacherscorner@exced.net
TEACHING STYLES
Then, what is your teaching style? Anthony Grasha in his book Teaching with Style has listed the following five teaching styles. Where do you fall into?
According to Indiana State University “Instructors develop a teaching style based on their beliefs about what constitutes good teaching, personal preferences, their abilities, and the norms of their particular discipline. Some believe classes should be teacher-centered, where the teacher is expert and authority in presenting information. Others take a learner-centered approach, viewing their role as more of a facilitator of student learning. Although individuals have a dominant, preferred teaching style, they will often mix in some elements of other styles. If you wish to take a more open approach to your teaching, a blend of various styles may be very effective”.
Anthony Grasha's Five Teaching Styles
EXPERT Possesses knowledge and expertise that students need.
Strives to maintain status as an expert among students by displaying detailed knowledge and by challenging students to enhance their competence.
Concerned with transmitting information and insuring that students are well prepared
Information, knowledge, and skills such individuals possess.
If overused, the display of knowledge can be intimidating to less experienced students.
May not always show the underlying though processes that produced answers.
FORMAL AUTHORITY Possesses status among students because of knowledge and role as a faculty member.
Concerned with providing positive and negative feedback, establishing learning goals, expectations, and rules of conduct for students.
Concerned with the correct, acceptable, and standard ways to do things and with providing students with the structure they need to learn.
They focus on clear expectations and acceptable ways of doing things.
A strong investment in this style can lead to rigid, standardized, and less flexible ways of managing students and their concerns.
PERSONAL MODEL Believes in "teaching by personal example" and establishes a prototype for how to think and behave.
Oversees, guides, and directs by showing how to do things, and encouraging students to observe and then to emulate the instructor's approach.
An emphasis on direct observation and following a role model
Some teachers may believe their approach is the best way leading some students to feel inadequate if they cannot live up to such expectations and standards.
FACILITATOR Emphasizes the personal nature of teacher-student interactions.
Guides and directs students by asking questions, exploring options, suggesting alternatives, and encouraging them to develop criteria to make informed choices.
Overall goal is to develop in students the capacity for independent action, initiative, and responsibility.
Works with students on projects in a consultative fashion and tries to provide as much support and encouragement as possible.
The personal flexibility, the focus on students' needs and goals, and the willingness to explore options and alternative courses of action.
Style is often time consuming and is sometimes employed in a positive and affirming manner.
DELEGATOR Concerned with developing students' capacity to function in an autonomous fashion.
Students work independently on projects or as part of autonomous teams.
The teacher is available at the request of students as a resource person.
Helps students to perceive themselves as independent learners.
May misread student's readiness for independent work.
Some students may become anxious when given autonomy.