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Eight-scale instrument for classifying teaching style

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Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description

A behavioral-recording and rating instrument developed by Garfunkel for describing classroom atmosphere and teaching style across eight bipolar scales.

Components

  • Eight-scale instrument for classifying teaching style (control, approach, value, warmth, humor, flexibility, direction, differentiation): The article presents eight behavioral scales for describing classroom atmosphere and teaching style, each with stated polarities: control (teacher-child), approach (punitive-supportive), value (work-play), warmth (rejecting-accepting), humor (bland-humorous), flexibility (rigid-adaptive), direction (aimless-purposeful), and differentiation (undifferentiated-individualized). The scales are described as "a first approximation of relevant components of classroom atmosphere" and are meant to be part of a change process, with accommodation and revision expected as integral to the methodology. They are operationalized directly by behavioral recording, indirectly by rater judgments, or by inferring (Garfunkel (1967))
  • Grasha's five teacher roles framework (expert, formal authority, personal model, facilitator, delegator): The article adopts Grasha's framework of five teaching styles reflecting five teacher roles: the "expert (transmitter of information)", "formal authority (sets standards and defines acceptable ways of doing things)", "personal model (teaches by illustration and direct example)", "facilitator (guides and directs by asking questions, exploring options, suggesting alternatives)", and "delegator (develops students' ability to function autonomously)". The study uses the Teaching Style Survey built on these five scales to measure how teachers in two cultural settings perceive their roles, and expects social-constructivist adopters to favour facilitator and delegator roles over expert, authority and model roles. (Chang Zhu et al. (2010))

Claims

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Key Sources

  • Garfunkel, Frank. (1967). Teaching Style: The Development of Teaching Tasks. Boston University. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED022557
Page metadata
Field Value
type product
id eight-scale-instrument-for-classifying-teaching-style
title Eight-scale instrument for classifying teaching style
description A behavioral-recording and rating instrument developed by Garfunkel for describing classroom atmosphere and teaching style across eight bipolar scales.
status review
moved_from element/eight-teaching-style-scales-garfunkel
product_kind assessment
generated by process:sweep-kinds on 2026-10-10
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — garfunkel-1967

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