Every teacher is unique in their own way. In the course of time, they adopt a particular style; however flexibility exists based on the learning objectives. It is imperative to state that, whatever may be the style, effectiveness of the style can be judged based on the rate of engagement of the students in learning process. When engaged the students develop critical thinking skills.

Teacher centered approach

Teachers may attempt to maximize their delivery of information and control of the class while minimizing their time and effort.

Pros of teacher-centered approaches are:

• A large amount of information can be shared in a short amount of time
• The teacher has control of organization
• The teacher has control of pacing and content
• Accommodates large numbers of students
• Allows for quick and easy assessment methods

Cons of teacher-centered approaches are:

• Knowledge controlled by the instructor
• One-way communication
• Not necessarily conducive to critical thinking
• Promotes passive learning
• Not an optimal way of learning for many students

Two teacher-centered approaches are defined as:

Formal authority: 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.” 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.

Demonstrator model: This type of teacher acts as a role model by demonstrating skills and processes and then as a coach/guide in helping students to 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.

Student centered approach

Many teachers use more interactive approaches in an effort to be responsive to a variety of learning styles. Student-centered approaches require active participation from teachers and students, putting much of the responsibility for leaning on the student.

Pros of a student-centered approach include:

• Engages students in the learning process
• Encourages student ownership of knowledge
• Provides real life connections
• Promotes active learning
• Fosters critical thinking
• Addresses multiple learning styles
• Allows for varied assessment strategies

Cons of a student-centered approach include:

• More difficult to implement with large numbers of students
• Can be more time consuming than lecturing
• Not effective in all subject areas
• Students may resist new approaches

Regardless of the cons, the results of educational research studies as well as anecdotal evidence generally show that interactive, student-driven teaching results in successful learning for a broader range of learning styles.

Two student-centered models are defined as:

Facilitator: These teachers tend to focus on activities. There is much more responsibility placed on the students to take the initiative for meeting the demands of various learning tasks. 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. While course content is obviously essential, the facilitator does not make them the principal focus of the course goals. Rather, the goal is to learn how to use the content in a problem-solving way.

Delegator: Places 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.

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.

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.

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.

Teacher should 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.

• 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.

Learning styles

Like teaching styles, learning styles are also unique. Learning styles are how people learn successfully. Basically there are three types of learners – visual, aural/ auditory and kinesthetic. Flemming’s VARK model of learning styles suggests that there are four main types of learners. These four key types are- Visual, Auditory, Read/Write and Kinesthetic. In case of kids recent studies showed that seven learning styles viz.,

Visual (spatial): prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
Aural (auditory-musical): prefer using sound and music.
Verbal (linguistic): prefer using words, both in speech and writing.
Physical (kinesthetic): prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.
Logical (mathematical): prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.
Social (interpersonal): prefer to learn in groups or with other people.
Solitary (intrapersonal): prefer to work alone and use self-study.

The characteristics, teaching and learning strategy for each of the style is presented below

Visual learners

They need to associate ideas, concepts, data and other information with images and techniques.

Characteristics

• Observes rather than talking or acting
• Not very distractible
• Notices details
• Memorizes by seeing graphics or pictures
• Enjoys advance planning
• Struggles with verbal instructions
• Typically has good handwriting and is a good speller

Teaching Strategies

• Seat your visual learners close to the front, where they can see the presenter clearly
• Include meaningful visual aids to support your verbal instruction
• Use colors to cue important information
• Encourage note taking

Learning Strategies

• Recopy notes while studying. This can be done several times if necessary.
• Visualise the information or how to solve a problem
• Look at the words, visualise the words in your mind, repeat them to yourself.

Auditory learners

Auditory learning is a learning style in which a person learns through listening. Auditory learners need to hear what is being said in order to understand and may have difficulty with written instructions.

Characteristics

• Talks to self
• Easily distracted
• Enjoys music, hums or sings often
• Enjoys being read to or listening to audio books
• Struggles with written instructions
• Likes to talk

Teaching Strategies

• Seat auditory learners away from distractions
• Use good expression when speaking- don’t be monotonous!
• Have students repeat important information
• Incorporate songs or catchy phrases into your presentation

Learning Strategies

• Repeat facts or information aloud while studying
• Explain or teach information to others
• Brainstorm or study aloud with others
• Say words inside your head to remember them

Kinesthetic learners

Kinesthetic (also called Tactile) Learning is a learning style in which learning takes place by the student carrying out a physical activity, rather than listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration.

Characteristics

• Frequently in motion- shaking legs, drumming fingers, etc.
• Often touches people while talking
• Enjoys solving problems by physically working through them
• Will try new things, is very outgoing
• Reading and spelling not a priority

Teaching Strategies

• Seat them towards the back of the room so their motion does not distract others
• Have frequent movement breaks
• Incorporate role play into your instruction
• Use models and real objects for visual aids and pass them around to the students

Learning Strategies

• Take frequent breaks when studying to get up and move around
• Pace back and forth while studying
• Eliminate distracting objects from your desk
• Draw information while learning it

Tips for accommodating different types of learners with suitable teaching method

Character	Tips for accommodating
Visual learning style has a preference for seen or observed things, including pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, displays, handouts, films, flip-chart, etc.   These people will use phrases such as ‘show me’, ‘let’s have a look at that’ and will be best able to perform a new task after reading the instructions or watching someone else do it first. These are the people who will work from lists and written directions and instructions.	Use maps, flow charts, or webs to organize materials Highlight and color code books/notes to organize and relate material Have students pick out key words and ideas in their own writing and highlight them in different colors to clearly reveal organizational patterns Write out checklists of needed formulas, commonly misspelled words, etc. Write out and use flash cards for review of material Draw pictures or cartoons of concepts Write down material on slips of paper and move them around into proper sequence. (Can be done on PC too) Use the chalkboard (them and you) to note important information If using the computer, have the student experiment with different font sizes and styles to enhance readability.
Auditory learning style has a preference for the transfer of information through listening: to the spoken word, of self or others, of sounds and noises. These people will use phrases such as ‘tell me’, ‘let’s talk it over’ and will be best able to perform a new task after listening to instructions from an expert. These are the people who are happy being given spoken instructions over the telephone, and can remember all the words to songs that they hear!	Engage the student in conversation about the subject matter Question students about the material Ask for oral summaries of material Have them tape lectures and review them with you Have them tape themselves reviewing material and listen to it together Read material aloud to them Use a talking calculator Have them put material to a rhythm or tune and rehearse it aloud
Kinesthetic learning style has a preference for physical experience – touching, feeling, holding, doing, practical hands-on experiences.   These people will use phrases such as ‘let me try’, ‘how do you feel?’ and will be best able to perform a new task by going ahead and trying it out, learning as they go. These are the people who like to experiment, hands-on, and never look at the instructions	Write out checklists of materials to be learned or looked for Trace words and diagrams on paper Use textured paper and experiment with different sizes of pens, pencils, and crayons to write down information Use role play or dramatize concepts. Students can move objects around to dramatize a concept or act out the concept themselves. Ask the student to envision a scene in which the material to be learned is being used or acted out somehow.  For example: a student could imagine being a character in a novel. Have the student take notes (on paper, word processor, in textbooks) while reading or listening. Use some form of body movement (snapping fingers, pacing, mouthing ideas) while reciting material to be learned.

References

http://www.umassd.edu/dss/resources/facultystaff/howtoteachandaccommodate/howtoaccommodatedifferentlearningstyles

Eric Gill (2016) What is Your Teaching Style? 5 Effective Teaching Methods for Your Classroom, http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/5-types-of-classroom-teaching-styles
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/cte/teaching_resources/goodteaching/teaching_styles

Assignment

1. Identify teaching styles in your campus
2. Measure learning styles of the students using VARK inventory