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First, it is vital to understand that none of the styles described below are permanent in nature. In other words, a competent teacher should be able to vary their teaching style depending on the circumstances, given group and lesson activity. According to Paul B. Thornton, speaker, trainer, and professor of business administration at Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield, MA, there are three main teaching styles to choose: Directing, discussing and delegating. Let us take a brief look at all three, starting with a discussing style of teaching. Many famous philosophers and educators from ancient times practiced this style. Socrates would encourage his students' critical thinking by asking them challenging questions. Aristotelis, surrounded by Alexander the Great and the rest of the students, would bring up topics that leave a big room for further discussion. Both of them would, in the end, lead their students to a logical conclusion of the dilemma. A vital aspect of the success of this particular style is the ability to stay open-minded as a teacher, treat every opinion with respect and interest. Additionally, it is important to avoid situations where certain students dominate the discussion. Give time to everyone in the classroom to be able to solicit everyone's ideas on the given topic. It is worth encouraging evidently insecure students to voice their opinions. While sometimes the flow of the conversation can lead to great discussions, it is still crucial to have main questions in advance. The delegating style promotes learning through enhancement. This style, when used by the teacher, allows the students to work on their assignments independently or in groups. While individual projects give teachers an opportunity to assess a chosen students’ progress and knowledge, group projects promote teamwork. A good example of the task could be a capstone project: students demonstrate their abilities by working on the topic that is important to them. Another task that reflects the delegating style of teaching is research projects. Students can do both online and offline kinds of research. Last gives them an opportunity to meet real people and survey them. Now, the directing style of teaching uses guidance and directions from the teacher. Students are given exact instructions they are meant to follow. The information can be passed to the students through a variety of options: role play, lectures, videos, etc. Paul B. Thornton suggests a few things for using directing style: Starting with a big picture: students are given context before specifics. The teacher must be clear and concise: this way, students know exactly what to do and, what is even more important, how to do it. Things such as goals, deadlines, and formats must be understood by students in order to have their tasks accomplished. To sum it up, it is important to understand that there is no “best” teaching style. However, there are situations and/or tasks where a certain teaching style would fit the best. Essentially, the aforementioned teaching styles could be simplified as follows: Directing teaching style – Tell students what to do (set clear goals) Discussing teaching style – Ask questions and listen (start a discussion and assess) Delegating teaching style – Give students independence
