teaching style
Grasha (1996) defines teaching style as a particular pattern of needs, beliefs, and behaviors that teachers display in the classroom.
Grasha identified five teaching styles:
Expert:
Formal Authority
Personal Model
Facilitator
Delegator
- Teacher Centered – Teacher is expert and authority
- Learner Centered – Facilitator of student learning
Grasha identified five teaching styles:
- Expert (transmitter of information)
- Formal authority (sets standards)
- Personal model (teaches by direct example)
- Facilitator (guides by asking questions, exploring options)
- Delegator (develop students ability to function autonomously)
Expert:
- Possess knowledge and expertise students need.
- Strives to maintain status as an expert among students by displaying detailed knowledge and by challenging students to enhance their competence.
- Advantage: Knowledge base present, challenge
- Disadvantage: If overused, the display of knowledge can seem intimidating to students, especially less experienced students.
Formal Authority
- Possesses status among students because of knowledge and role as a faculty member.
- Concerned with the standard ways to do things and with providing students with the structure they need to learn.
- Advantage: The focus is on clear expectations and acceptable ways of doing things. Structure.
- Disadvantage: A strong investment in this style can lead to rigid and standardized ways of managing students.
Personal Model
- Believes in “teaching by personal example” and establishes a prototype for how to think and behave.
- Advantage: An emphasis on direct observation and following a role model.
- Disadvantage: 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.
- Overall goal is to develop in students the capacity for independent action, initiative, and responsibility.
- Advantage: The personal flexibility, the focus on students’ needs and goals, and willingness to explore options and alternative courses of action.
- Disadvantage: Time consuming and is sometimes employed in a false positive and affirming manner.
Delegator
- Concerned with developing students’ capacity to function in a autonomous way.
- Students work independently on projects or as part of autonomous teams.
- Advantage: Help students to perceive themselves as independent learners.
- Disadvantage: May misread student’s readiness for independent work.
MY RESULTS
I am formal authority, personal model, and delegator. This may help me understand my strength and preference. Therefore, depends on the above results, I need to consider what and how to use my strength teaching styles, what methods should I use, and how to improve my weaker skills.