1. Choosing a teaching style will often depend on both your identity (what you feel comfortable doing given your personality, identity, experience) and the material (what is the most effective way to convey the information to the students). As a teaching assistant, work to find the teaching style that you are most comfortable with and then try to experiment with new methods to see what works best for the material.
2. The formal teaching style, as described on the continuum above, is more regimented and is preferred for situations where the material is highly complex or the audience is very large (situations where a uniform delivery is critical for uniform understanding and time does not allow for personalized interaction).
3. The informal teaching style is more dynamic and is often driven by the interactions that occur between teacher and student. It is also preferred for situations where students are expected to actively reflect and discuss their ideas and reactions.
4. You may find yourself working for a professor who has a teaching style that is different from yours. Always show respect for their style and their methods. If you have the opportunity, learn from them to make yourself more a more versatile teacher.
In this lesson, we will be exploring your role as a teacher. As a teaching assistant, you may not think of yourself as a teacher, but any time that you stand in front of a group of students, or any time that you answer a question during your office hours, students will look to you as an authority. As such, you are guiding their learning process and, in essence, teaching them. This module will help you find your comfort zone for those interactions.
In many ways, teaching is like being a tour guide. Students are new to the intellectual terrain of the course and you are the old pro: walking them down the trail, pointing out interesting sights and sounds and helping them avoid pitfalls. For some people, teaching is a matter of following the trail—letting the material define the path that you will take. For others, teaching is more informal where students are allowed to explore the material freely and the teacher serves as a general resource.
Adopting a specific teaching style is not an explicit choice that you make for its own sake. In most cases, your teaching style emerges naturally from your personality and the choices you make about how to present the material that you are teaching. As a teaching assistant, the important thing is to find the teaching style that feels best for you and your situation. Ultimately, you may find yourself using a variety of styles depending on the teaching context you are in. To help you get started, we list different qualities of a formal and an informal teaching style as well as different conditions where one style may be preferred over another. These two styles define the formal and informal endpoints of our Teaching Styles Continuum shown below:
The formal teaching style is often preferred by those who teach highly technical material, or material that is based on unambiguous, concrete principles. Because the lecture is built around the material, a formal style of teaching will ensure that the material is delivered in a controlled and systematic way. NOTE: this does not mean that a formal lecture style is the only way to teach highly technical material! The formal lecture style is a safe way to ensure that all students receive the same information; as long as the teacher finishes the lecture as planned, there is little chance of leaving something out.
You may also prefer to use a formal teaching style if you don't feel comfortable in front of an audience. For the introverted teacher, it can be exhausting to stay energized and in touch with a large group of students for an extended period of time. Formal teaching strategies may also be useful for teachers whose authority may be questioned by students. Teachers who are new to the field, are new to teaching, are young or appear young, or are soft-spoken may benefit from a formal style. By using a formal style, the focus will be shifted away from the teacher and more toward the material (but not entirely).
Individuals who adopt a formal teaching style often…
1. Structure student interaction around the material itself.
2. Lecture from talking points that form the backbone of the lesson.
3. Teach material that focuses on details and concrete principles that must be absorbed equally by all students.
Video example of a formal teaching style:
In this video, TA Christina is lecturing on a theoretical perspective in political science. She is using a very formal teaching style, letting the material dictate the flow of the lecture. Notice also how her interactions with the students revolve around the material that she has presented.
As shown in the continuum above, the informal teaching style tends to be based on dynamic interaction between teacher and student, and is guided by the way the student responds to the teacher and to the material. Though the continuum shows that an informal teaching style is preferred for smaller audiences, this is not a rule but instead means that it is often easier to interact with smaller groups than with larger groups. Reasons for this include the fact that it is often hard for students in a large group to hear or understand comments made by individual students. Furthermore, any interaction between the student and teacher could alienate students who aren't able to follow along. It is possible to adopt an interactive style with large groups, but be sure to include the large group equally at each step of the interaction. If interacting with the class is like herding sheep, ask yourself what you need to do to keep the herd together: when a student asks a question, repeat it or paraphrase it to the class before answering; and when you ask questions of the group, make sure to repeat the question several times so that everyone can have a chance to think about how they would respond.
Individuals who adopt an informal teaching style often…
1. Use student interaction to guide the lecture or discussion.
2. Show a high degree of extemporaneous speaking in lecture or discussion.
3. Lecture from a top-down or applied perspective, focusing on general principles or questions that must be explored and reflected upon from the students' own point of view.
Video example of an informal teaching style:
In this video, TA Michelle is teaching French and has chosen to present the material in a very interactive fashion, letting the students guide the discussion through the way that they respond to her questions. Although there are specific learning objectives that Michelle is using to guide her teaching, the style of delivery that she has chosen is very informal and dynamic so that the route she takes to achieve those learning objectives is based on this moment-to-moment interaction with the students.
Interacting with a Professor who has a Different Teaching Style
As a teaching assistant, you may find yourself working for a professor who practices a teaching style different from your own (or you may work with other TAs who each have their own unique styles). While students may prefer one style of teaching over another, be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that one style is necessarily better than another. Showing any confusion toward or disregard for a colleague because they choose a style different from yours can jeopardize the credibility of the educational experience that you and your colleague are trying to provide. Rather than think of your teaching styles as right or wrong, try to find ways that the differing styles can complement one another so that the students receive information on a variety of levels. Also, pay attention to colleagues who adopt a different style of delivery. By observing and imitating their techniques, you will be able to broaden your repertoire of styles and become a more versatile teacher yourself!
Video example of a formal teaching style:
In this video, TA Christina is lecturing on a theoretical perspective in political science. She is using a very formal teaching style, letting the material dictate the flow of the lecture. Notice also how her interactions with the students revolve around the material that she has presented.
Video example of an informal teaching style:
In this video, TA Michelle is teaching French and has chosen to present the material in a very interactive fashion, letting the students guide the discussion through the way that they respond to her questions. Although there are specific learning objectives that Michelle is using to guide her teaching, the style of delivery that she has chosen is very informal and dynamic so that the route she takes to achieve those learning objectives is based on this moment-to-moment interaction with the students.