This is the sixth in a series of blog posts examining online instructor teaching styles through the lens of Anthony Grasha’s (1994) typology. This post focuses on the delegator style and how both course developers and instructors can embody this style in online courses.
The Delegator Teaching Style
The delegator style emphasizes student autonomy. Faculty with this teaching style invite students to work independently on assignments and projects, offering support and guidance only as needed. When employing this teaching style online, it is essential to set students up for success by providing clear expectations, frequent opportunities to grow their skills and conceptual knowledge, and resources for independent work. Strategies and considerations for achieving these aims are explored below.
The Delegator Teaching Style in Online Learning
Course Developers
- Some students may relish opportunities for working independently, whereas others may be daunted. Detailing requirements for student work early in the course can help ensure that all students progress towards course objectives with confidence and in accordance with your expectations. To this effect, you might consider adding a page or section about the work students will be expected to complete independently before any content is presented or work assigned.
- Instructors may not readily receive indicators of how students are feeling about working independently. As a course developer, you might consider building in opportunities for students to share comments, questions, and concerns with their instructors. Such opportunities might take the form of short surveys or brief reflection prompts. Instructors can use the information students supply to decide whether to provide additional support and guidance.
- In developing the learning content for your course, consider how the materials you create and curate will enable students to independently complete assignments and projects. Modeling important skills and demonstrating key tasks or processes can be especially helpful. In addition, drawing students’ attention to relevant or challenging concepts can help ensure that they can successfully apply what they have learned.
- Relatedly, consider building in opportunities for students to practice skills, processes, and conceptual applications in advance of assignment or project submissions. Pairing lecture content with practice problems or following assigned readings with short knowledge check quizzes encourages students to develop and refine their understanding. Additionally, practice exercises can provide instructors with valuable insights into areas in which students are excelling or struggling.
- Giving students a high degree of autonomy increases the likelihood that their assignments and projects will develop differently from instructor expectations. This is especially true in online courses, where instructors don't have the same opportunities that face-to-face instructors have to clarify and expand on the materials provided. Taking the time to develop instructions, samples, templates, and other assignment or project materials for your online students can facilitate a smooth and successful course experience for both students and instructors.
Online Instructors
- You will likely want to share your expectations for independent work early in the course, being sure to address significant milestones and requirements. If, for example, your course has a series of small deliverables that culminate in a final project submission, you might let students know they can expect more support early in the term, decreasing as they progress toward their final deliverables.
- To reduce student anxiety, communicate your availability as early as possible, being explicit about when and how students should contact you (via email, during virtual office hours, etc.). For questions that arise frequently or which you think are relevant to all students, consider sending an announcement or setting up a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page for students to review.
- Consider what resources you can offer or recommend to students to support their success on course assignments and projects. As examples, you might post announcements that link to timely articles (news or academic), supplemental videos, and online events related to course topics or assignments. Doing so can increase your presence in the course and augment the course experience for students while still fostering student autonomy, allowing students to decide when and how to consult the resources provided.
- You may find that some students in your course thrive when granted autonomy whereas others may express apprehension or anxiety (even if they are succeeding in the course). Keeping the range of student preferences and experiences in mind can help you tailor your feedback appropriately. Letting students know what aspects of their work are successful and where their work can be improved will help all students progress confidently in the course.