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What is Your Teaching Style? 5 Effective Teaching Methods for Your Classroom

No two teachers are alike, and any teacher with classroom teaching experience will agree that their style of teaching is uniquely their own. An effective teaching style engages students in the learning process and helps them develop critical thinking skills. Traditional teaching styles have evolved with the advent of differentiated instruction, prompting teachers to adjust their styles toward students’ learning needs.

What are the different styles of teaching?

The following list of teaching styles highlights the five main strategies teachers use in the classroom, as well as the benefits and potential pitfalls of each respective teaching method.

Authority, or lecture style

The authority model is teacher-centered and frequently entails lengthy lecture sessions or one-way presentations. Students are expected to take notes or absorb information.

• Pros: This style is acceptable for certain higher-education disciplines and auditorium settings with large groups of students. The pure lecture style is most suitable for subjects like history that necessitate memorization of key facts, dates, names, etc.

• Cons: It is a questionable model for teaching children because there is little or no interaction with the teacher.

Demonstrator, or coach style

The demonstrator retains the formal authority role while allowing teachers to demonstrate their expertise by showing students what they need to know.

• Pros: This style gives teachers opportunities to incorporate a variety of formats including lectures, multimedia presentations and demonstrations.

• Cons: Although it’s well-suited for teaching mathematics, music, physical education, arts and crafts, it is difficult to accommodate students’ individual needs in larger classrooms.

Facilitator, or activity style

Facilitators promote self-learning and help students develop critical thinking skills and retain knowledge that leads to self-actualization.

• Pros: This style trains students to ask questions and helps develop skills to find answers and solutions through exploration; it is ideal for teaching science and similar subjects.

• Cons: Challenges teacher to interact with students and prompt them toward discovery rather than lecturing facts and testing knowledge through memorization.

Delegator, or group style

The delegator style is best-suited for curriculum that requires lab activities, such as chemistry and biology, or subjects that warrant peer feedback, like debate and creative writing.

• Pros: Guided discovery and inquiry-based learning places the teacher in an observer role that inspires students by working in tandem toward common goals.

• Cons: Considered a modern style of teaching, it is sometimes criticized as newfangled and geared toward teacher as consultant rather than the traditional authority figure.

Hybrid, or blended style

Hybrid, or blended style, follows an integrated approach to teaching that blends the teachers’ personality and interests with students’ needs and curriculum-appropriate methods.

• Pros: Achieves the inclusive approach of combining teaching style clusters and enables teachers to tailor their styles to student needs and appropriate subject matter.

• Cons: Hybrid style runs the risk of trying to be too many things to all students, prompting teachers to spread themselves too thin and dilute learning.

Because teachers have styles that reflect their distinct personalities and curriculum — from math and science to English and history — it’s crucial that they remain focused on their teaching objectives and avoid trying to be all things to all students.

What you need to know about your teaching style

Although it is not the teacher’s job to entertain students, it is vital to engage them in the learning process. Selecting a style that addresses the needs of diverse students at different learning levels begins with a personal inventory — a self-evaluation — of the teacher’s strengths and weaknesses. As they develop their teaching styles and integrate them with effective classroom management skills, teachers will learn what works best for their personalities and curriculum.

Our guide encapsulates today’s different teaching styles and helps teachers identify the style that’s right for them and their students. Browse through the article or use these links to jump to your desired destination.

• What is a teaching style inventory, and how have teaching styles evolved?

• What teaching method is best for today’s students?

• How does classroom diversity influence teachers?

Emergence of the teaching style inventory

How have teaching styles evolved? This is a question teachers are asked, and frequently ask themselves, as they embark on their careers, and occasionally pause along the way to reflect on job performance. To understand the differences in teaching styles, it’s helpful to know where the modern concept of classifying teaching methods originated.

The late Anthony F. Grasha, a noted professor of psychology at the University of Cincinnati, is credited with developing the classic five teaching styles. A follower of psychiatrist Carl Jung, Grasha began studying the dynamics of the relationship between teachers and learning in college classrooms. His groundbreaking book, “Teaching with Style,” was written both as a guide for teachers and as a tool to help colleagues, administrators and students systematically evaluate an instructor’s effectiveness in the classroom.

Grasha understood that schools must use a consistent, formal approach in evaluating a teacher’s classroom performance. He recognized that any system designed to help teachers improve their instructional skills requires a simple classification system. He developed a teaching style inventory that has since been adopted and modified by followers.

• Expert: Similar to a coach, experts share knowledge, demonstrate their expertise, advise students and provide feedback to improve understanding and promote learning.

• Formal authority: Authoritative teachers incorporate the traditional lecture format and share many of the same characteristics as experts, but with less student interaction.

• Personal model: Incorporates blended teaching styles that match the best techniques with the appropriate learning scenarios and students in an adaptive format.

• Facilitator: Designs participatory learning activities and manages classroom projects while providing information and offering feedback to facilitate critical thinking.

• Delegator: Organizes group learning, observes students, provides consultation, and promotes interaction between groups and among individuals to achieve learning objectives.

Although he developed specific teaching styles, Grasha warned against boxing teachers into a single category. Instead, he advocated that teachers play multiple roles in the classroom. He believed most teachers possess some combination of all or most of the classic teaching styles.

How does differentiated instruction impact teaching styles?

Carol Ann Tomlinson, a professor at the University of Virginia, is an early advocate of differentiated instruction and a pioneer in the development of learning-based teaching styles. If Grasha laid the groundwork for 20th-century teachers to adopt styles tailored to match their personalities and strengths, Tomlinson has advanced this theme into the 21st century by focusing on differentiated instruction.

In the simplest terms, differentiated instruction means keeping all students in mind when developing lesson plans and workbook exercises, lectures and interactive learning. These student-focused differences necessitate instructional styles that embrace diverse classrooms for students at all learning levels and from various backgrounds without compromising the teacher’s strengths.

What teaching style is best for today’s students?

Whether you’re a first-year teacher eager to put into practice all of the pedagogical techniques you learned in college, or a classroom veteran examining differentiated instruction and new learning methodologies, consider that not all students respond well to one particular style. Although teaching styles have been categorized into five groups, today’s ideal teaching style is not an either/or proposition but more of a hybrid approach that blends the best of everything a teacher has to offer.

Here is a recap from the list of teaching methods described earlier.

• Authority, or lecture style: This traditional, formal approach to teaching is sometimes referred to as “the sage on the stage.”

• Demonstrator, or coach style: This style retains the formal authority role while allowing teachers to demonstrate their expertise by showing students what they need to learn.

• Facilitator, or activity style: This approach encourages teachers to function as advisors who help students learn by doing.

• Developer, or group style: This style allows teachers to guide students in a group setting to accomplish tasks and learn what works or doesn’t.

• Hybrid, or blended style: This approach incorporates different aspects of the various styles and gives teachers flexibility to tailor a personal style that’s right for their coursework and students.

The traditional advice that teachers not overreach with a cluster of all-encompassing teaching styles might seem to conflict with today’s emphasis on student-centered classrooms. Theoretically, the more teachers emphasize student-centric learning the harder it is to develop a well-focused style based on their personal attributes, strengths and goals.

In short, modern methods of teaching require different types of teachers — from the analyst/organizer to the negotiator/consultant. Here are some other factors to consider as teachers determine the best teaching method for their students.

Empty vessel: Critics of the “sage on the stage” lecture style point to the “empty vessel” theory, which assumes a student’s mind is essentially empty and needs to be filled by the “expert” teacher. Critics of this traditional approach to teaching insist this teaching style is outmoded and needs to be updated for the diverse 21st-century classroom.

Active vs. passive: Proponents of the traditional lecture approach believe that an overemphasis on group-oriented participatory teaching styles, like facilitator and delegator, favor gifted and competitive students over passive children with varied learning abilities, thereby exacerbating the challenges of meeting the needs of all learners.

Knowledge vs. information: Knowledge implies a complete understanding, or full comprehension, of a particular subject. A blend of teaching styles that incorporate facilitator, delegator, demonstrator, and lecturer techniques helps the broadest range of students acquire in-depth knowledge and mastery of a given subject. This stands in contrast to passive learning, which typically entails memorizing facts, or information, with the short-term objective of scoring well on tests.

Interactive classrooms: Laptops and tablets, videoconferencing and podcasts in classrooms play a vital role in today’s teaching styles. With technology in mind, it is imperative that teachers assess their students’ knowledge while they are learning. The alternative is to wait for test results, only to discover knowledge gaps that should have been detected during the active learning phase.

Constructivist teaching methods: Contemporary teaching styles tend to be group focused and inquiry driven. Constructivist teaching methods embrace subsets of alternative teaching styles, including modeling, coaching, and test preparation through rubrics scaffolding. All of these are designed to promote student participation and necessitate a hybrid approach to teaching. One criticism of the constructivist approach is it caters to extroverted, group-oriented students, who tend to dominate and benefit from these teaching methods more than introverts; however, this assumes introverts aren’t learning by observing.

Student-centric learning does not have to come at the expense of an instructor’s preferred teaching method. However, differentiated instruction demands that teachers finesse their style to accommodate the diverse needs of 21st-century classrooms.

The ‘sage on the stage’ meets the ‘tiger mom’

The objective of blending teaching styles to leverage the teacher’s strengths while meeting the demands of diverse students has become increasingly difficult, as parents take a decidedly proactive role in child-learning techniques.

The traditional authoritative/expert, or “sage on the stage” lecture style, has come under attack by some parents — and contemporary educational leaders — who emphasize that a more diverse approach to teaching is necessary to engage students. This is compounded by the rise of “tiger moms,” a term made popular by parents devoted to improving the quality of education with laser-precision focus on A-list schools and a highly competitive job market.

Age of the proactive parent

Regardless of what style a teacher adopts, it’s important for teachers to develop positive attitudes, set goals and establish high expectations for students.

“Assume students can excel!” education authors Harry and Rosemary Wong declare. As former teachers with a combined 80-plus years of educational experience, the Wongs emphasize in their best-selling book, “The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher” and their more recent, “The Classroom Management Book” that successful teachers share three common characteristics:

• effective classroom management skills

• lesson mastery

• positive expectations

All instructors, when developing their teaching styles, should keep in mind these three goals, as well as the primary objective of education: student learning.

How does classroom diversity influence teachers?

It is abundantly clear that today’s teachers are responsible for students with a diverse range of learning abilities. The 21st-century teacher does not have the luxury of “picking the low-hanging fruit” and then leaving the rest of the tree for experts who specialize in children with behavioral issues or learning disorders.

Today’s teachers must develop instructional styles that work well in diverse classrooms. Effective teaching methods engage gifted students, as well as slow-learning children and those with attention deficit tendencies. This is where differentiated instruction and a balanced mix of teaching styles can help reach all students in a given classroom — not just the few who respond well to one particular style of teaching.

The wonderment of teaching, what author/educator Dr. Harry Wong refers to as “that ah-ha moment” when a child “gets it,” is one of the most rewarding and seemingly elusive benefits of becoming a teacher. This transference of knowledge from expert to student is an art form and a skill. Fortunately, both can be learned and perfected.

Knowing how to engage students begins with selecting the teaching style that’s right for you. And remember, even though you may prefer one teaching style over another, you must find the style that works best for your students! Try different styles to meet different objectives, and always challenge yourself to find ways to reach each student.

Teaching Methods

The term Teaching method refers to the general principles, pedagogy and management strategies used for classroom instruction. Your choice of teaching method depends on what fits you — your educational philosophy, classroom demographic, subject area(s) and school mission statement. Teaching theories primarily fall into two categories or “approaches” — teacher-centered and student-centered:

Teacher-Centered Approach to Learning

Teachers are the main authority figure in this model. Students are viewed as “empty vessels” whose primary role is to passively receive information (via lectures and direct instruction) with an end goal of testing and assessment. It is the primary role of teachers to pass knowledge and information onto their students. In this model, teaching and assessment are viewed as two separate entities. Student learning is measured through objectively scored tests and assessments.

Student-Centered Approach to Learning

While teachers are an authority figure in this model, teachers and students play an equally active role in the learning process. The teacher’s primary role is to coach and facilitate student learning and overall comprehension of material. Student learning is measured through both formal and informal forms of assessment, including group projects, student portfolios, and class participation. Teaching and assessment are connected; student learning is continuously measured during teacher instruction.

To better understand these approaches, it is important to discuss what is generally understood as the three main teaching styles in educational pedagogy: direct instruction, inquiry-based learning and cooperative learning. Through these three teaching methods, teachers can gain a better understanding of how to govern their classroom, implement instruction and connect with their students. Within each of these three main teaching styles are teaching roles or “models.” Theorist A.F. Grasha explains the five main teaching models in her publication Teaching with Style (1996): Expert, Formal Authority, Personal Model, Facilitator and Delegator. To gain a better understanding of the fundamentals of each teaching style, it’s best to view them through the lens of direct instruction, inquiry-based learning, and cooperative teaching.

Direct Instruction

Direct instruction is the general term that refers to the traditional teaching strategy that relies on explicit teaching through lectures and teacher-led demonstrations. Direct instruction is the primary teaching strategy under the teacher-centered approach, in that teachers and professors are the sole supplier of knowledge and information. Direct instruction is effective in teaching basic and fundamental skills across all content areas.

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Inquiry-based Learning

Inquiry-based learning is a teaching method that focuses on student investigation and hands-on learning. In this method, the teacher’s primary role is that of a facilitator, providing guidance and support for students through the learning process. Inquiry-based learning falls under the student-centered approach, in that students play an active and participatory role in their own learning process.

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Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning refers to a method of teaching and classroom management that emphasizes group work and a strong sense of community. This model fosters students’ academic and social growth and includes teaching techniques such as “Think-Pair-Share” and reciprocal teaching. Cooperative learning falls under the student-centered approach because learners are placed in responsibility of their learning and development. This method focuses on the belief that students learn best when working with and learning from their peers.

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In order to identify your personal teaching style, it is important to acknowledge your personal values toward education and how your students learn. Understanding your teaching style early on will prove effective for both you and your students, creating and maintaining a balance between your teaching preferences and your students’ learning preferences.

The evidence is irrefutable. Surveys of graduates of education schools and colleges indicate that the #1 area of concern of new teachers is their feelings of inadequacy in managing classrooms. Despite clinical experiences, practicums, student teaching, and other observations in classroom settings, this problem has persisted for decades. There is no magic elixir that will confer skill in this area of professional responsibility. We only wish there were.

Classroom management and management of student conduct are skills that teachers acquire and hone over time. These skills almost never "jell" until after a minimum of few years of teaching experience. To be sure, effective teaching requires considerable skill in managing the myriad of tasks and situations that occur in the classroom each day. Skills such as effective classroom management are central to teaching and require "common sense," consistency, an often undervalued teacher behavior, a sense of fairness, and courage. These skills also require that teachers understand in more than one way the psychological and developmental levels of their students. The skills associated with effective classroom management are only acquired with practice, feedback, and a willingness to learn from mistakes. Sadly, this is often easier said than done. Certainly, a part of this problem is that there is no practical way for education students to "practice" their nascent skills outside of actually going into a classroom setting. The learning curve is steep, indeed.

As previously mentioned, personal experience and research indicate that many beginning teachers have difficulty effectively managing their classrooms. While there is no one best solution for every problem or classroom setting, the following principles, drawn from a number of sources, might help. Classroom teachers with many years of experience have contributed to an understanding of what works and what doesn't work in managing classrooms and the behavior of students. The following information represents some of the things that good classroom teachers do to maintain an atmosphere that enhances learning. It is written in straightforward, non-preachy language, and will not drive you to distraction with its length. I think most students appreciate that. With that in mind, I truly hope this information is useful to you. Should you decide to purchase my Catalyst: Tools for Effective Teaching 2.0   program, you will be treated to a great deal of additional classroom management resource material that you can put to use right away or down the road when you start teaching.

Please send any comments, suggestions, or questions to Dr. Robert Kizlik

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An Effective Classroom Management Context

(these four things are fundamental)

1. Know what you want and what you don't want.

2. Show and tell your students what you want.

3. When you get what you want, acknowledge (not praise) it.

4. When you get something else, act quickly and appropriately.

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|CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENT |

|While good classroom arrangement is not a guarantee of good behavior, poor planning in this area can create conditions that lead to problems. |

|  |The teacher must be able to observe all students at all times and to monitor work and behavior. The teacher should also be able to see the door from his or her desk.|

| |Frequently used areas of the room and traffic lanes should be unobstructed and easily accessible. |

| |Students should be able to see the teacher and presentation area without undue turning or movement. |

| |Commonly used classroom materials, e.g., books, attendance pads, absence permits, and student reference materials should be readily available. |

| |Some degree of decoration will help add to the attractiveness of the room. |

| |SETTING EXPECTATIONS FOR BEHAVIOR |

| |*Teachers should identify expectations for student behavior and communicate those expectations to students periodically. |

| |* Rules and procedures are the most common explicit expectations. A small number of general rules that emphasize appropriate behavior may be helpful. Rules should be|

| |posted in the classroom. Compliance with the rules should be monitored constantly. |

| |* Do not develop classroom rules you are unwilling to enforce. |

| |* School-Wide Regulations...particularly safety procedures...should be explained carefully. |

| |* Because desirable student behavior may vary depending on the activity, explicit expectations for the following procedures are helpful in creating a smoothly |

| |functioning classroom: |

| |- Beginning and ending the period, including attendance procedures and what students may or may not do during these times. |

| |- Use of materials and equipment such as the pencil sharpener, storage areas, supplies, and special equipment. |

| |- Teacher-Led Instruction |

| |- Seatwork |

| |- How students are to answer questions - for example, no student answer will be recognized unless he raises his hand and is called upon to answer by the teacher. |

| |- Independent group work such as laboratory activities or smaller group projects. |

| |Remember, good discipline is much more likely to occur if the classroom setting and activities are structured or arranged to enhance cooperative behavior. |

| |MANAGING STUDENT ACADEMIC WORK |

| |* Effective teacher-led instruction is free of: |

| |- Ambiguous and vague terms |

| |- Unclear sequencing |

| |- Interruptions |

| |* Students must be held accountable for their work. |

| |* The focus is on academic tasks and learning as the central purpose of student effort, rather than on good behavior for its own sake. |

| |MANAGING INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR |

| |* Address instruction and assignments to challenge academic achievement while continuing to assure individual student success. |

| |* Most inappropriate behavior in classrooms that is not seriously disruptive and can be managed by relatively simple procedures that prevent escalation. |

| |* Effective classroom managers practice skills that minimize misbehavior. |

| |* Monitor students carefully and frequently so that misbehavior is detected early before it involves many students or becomes a serious disruption. |

| |* Act to stop inappropriate behavior so as not to interrupt the instructional activity or to call excessive attention to the student by practicing the following |

| |unobstructive strategies: |

| |- Moving close to the offending student or students, making eye contact and giving a nonverbal signal to stop the offensive behavior. |

| |- Calling a student's name or giving a short verbal instruction to stop behavior. |

| |- Redirecting the student to appropriate behavior by stating what the student should be doing; citing the applicable procedure or rule. |

| |Example: "Please, look at the overhead projector and read the first line with me, I need to see everyone's eyes looking here." |

| |- More serious, disruptive behaviors such as fighting, continuous interruption of lessons, possession of drugs and stealing require direct action according to school|

| |board rule. |

| |Assertive Discipline has been used by many schools, and is an effective way to manage behavior. Find out more by clicking here. |

| |PROMOTING APPROPRIATE USE OF CONSEQUENCES |

| |* In classrooms, the most prevalent positive consequences are intrinsic student satisfaction resulting from success, accomplishment, good grades, social approval and|

| |recognition. |

| |* Students must be aware of the connection between tasks and grades. |

| |* Frequent use of punishment is associated with poor classroom management and generally should be avoided. |

| |* When used, negative consequences or punishment should be related logically to the misbehavior. |

| |* Milder punishments are often as effective as more intense forms and do not arouse as much negative emotion. |

| |* Misbehavior is less likely to recur if a student makes a commitment to avoid the action and to engage in more desirable alternative behaviors. |

| |* Consistency in the application of consequences is the key factor in classroom management. |

| |SOME ESOL PRINCIPLES |

| |(A FEW THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT L.E.P. STUDENTS): |

| |* They are not stupid and they can hear what is being said.. They just don't necessarily understand the language or culture, yet. |

| |* They come from a variety of backgrounds, even in the same country. For example schooled, unschooled, Americanized, etc. |

| |* It is easy to misunderstand body language and certain behaviors. For example, eye contact, spitting, chalk eating, etc. |

| |* Don't assume they understand something just because it seems simple to you. Simplify, boil down. |

| |* Even when they have lost their accent, they often misunderstand common words and phrases. |

| |* Correct repeated patterns or mistakes. |

| |* Good E.S.O.L. strategies are good teaching strategies. |

| |GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE PRAISE |

| |(Applies primarily to praise associated with instruction and student performance)  |

| |Effective Praise |

| |Ineffective Praise |

| | |

| |1. Is delivered contingently upon student |

| |performance of desirable behaviors or |

| |genuine accomplishment |

| |1. Is delivered randomly and indiscriminately without specific attention to genuine accomplishment |

| | |

| |2. Specifies the praiseworthy aspects of the student's accomplishments |

| |2. Is general or global, not specifying the success. |

| | |

| |3. Is expressed sincerely, showing spontaneity, variety and other non-verbal signs of credibility. |

| |3. Is expressed blandly without feeling or animation, and relying on stock, perfunctory phrases. |

| | |

| |4. Is given for genuine effort, progress, or accomplishment which are judged according to standards appropriate to individuals. |

| |4. Is given based on comparisons with others and without regard to the effort expended or significance of the accomplishment of an individual. |

| | |

| |5. Provides information to students about their competence or the value of their accomplishments. |

| |5. Provides no meaningful information to the students about their accomplishments. |

| | |

| |6. Helps students to better appreciate their thinking, problem-solving and performance. |

| |6. Orients students toward comparing themselves with others. |

| | |

| |7. Attributes student success to effort and ability, implying that similar successes can be expected in the future. |

| |7. Attributes student success to ability alone or to external factors such as luck or easy task. |

| | |

| |8. Encourages students to appreciate their accomplishments for the effort they expend and their personal gratification. |

| |8. Encourages students to succeed for external reasons -- to please the teacher, win a competition or reward, etc. |

| | |

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