Defining teaching "style"
Defining Teaching Style
Take a moment to consider teaching styles in your own practice or in classes where you have been the learner.
What differentiates teaching styles among instructors?
How does one intentionally develop a personalized teaching style?
Definitions of Teaching Style
The definition of teaching style has evolved over time due its multifaceted nature.
Instructors build a teaching style based on the structure, objective, and discipline of the course, and the ways instructors themselves learn (Pingle 2015).
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One prominent educational psychologist, Dr. Anthony Grasha, dedicated his efforts toward understanding and categorizing different types of teaching styles. Using Grasha's definition, teaching styles are the "personal qualities of college teachers and their effects on the learning styles of students." Others have developed very similar explanations of style (Table 1).
Five Teaching Styles
Grasha defined five different teaching styles that are still widely referred to today (Table 2). These styles (or roles) are not mutually exclusive, and Grasha recognized that while many instructors may identify more strongly with one or two approaches, most instructors take on many of these roles throughout the duration of a course (Grasha 2000).
Your Style
Do you see yourself as a delegator, demonstrator, facilitator, or authority figure in the classroom? Are you a mix?
Classroom Activities for Every Style
There are many different instructional methods that span every type of teaching style. Grasha's five styles largely range from more instructor-based (expert or authority) to student-based (facilitator or delegator). A second dimension of instructional style might include use of technology or additional resources. Below, we've plotted several instructional techniques on these dual axes of teacher-student focus and high-low technology use. This figure is inspired by other discussions of teaching style, and (Grasha 2000).
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Do you use any of these methods in your teaching? What practices would you consider bringing into your classroom?
References
1.Kothari, Tanvi P., and Sameer S. Pingle. “Personality Traits and Teaching Style of Management Teachers: An Empirical Study.” The Journal - Contemporary Management Research, 9, 2, 16–38 (2015).
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2. Grasha, A. F. & Yangarber-Hicks, N. Integrating Teaching Styles and Learning Styles with Instructional Technology. Coll. Teach. 48, 2–10 (2000).
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