Resources

Each week the Teaching Teams Program at the University of Arizona will be discussing one of the components of the Preceptor Training Curriculum. We feel that these concepts and methods can be beneficial to all members of the University Community and encourage readers to comment and ask questions of us via email or comments on the TTP blog.

Ten Qualities of Facilitative Leaders

Preceptors in the Teaching Teams Program here at the University of Arizona play a crucial role in today’s classroom. The level of preparedness and the likelihood of student success is a significant concern for educators, parents and students. Preceptors provide facilitative leadership within the classroom, a role that can bridge the gap between student and professor.

There are tricks to being an effective facilitative leader. The following is a discussion of Ten Qualities of Facilitative Leaders. Each of these qualities is key to the success of a Preceptor within a Teaching Team.

Distinguishing Between Facilitative and Directive Leadership

The first quality distinguishes facilitative leadership from directive leadership. People taking on leadership positions approach leading without fully understanding this distinction. It is important to understand that in the role of a preceptor on a teaching team is facilitative and not directive. The following discussion aims to flesh out the differences.

Preceptors are Facilitative, not Directive

Preceptors are not here to “fix” anyone.

Students are not problems to be solved or broken individuals in need of repair. They are participants in the learning process. Preceptors assist them in this process, providing assistance when requested and in appropriate situations when not requested.

Preceptors are not the “designated” leader and don’t need to have all the answers.

They should be prepared to say, “I don’t know, I’ll get back to you.” And they should always follow up. There may be aspects of the material a preceptor may have not considered that another student has. Students should be lead to answer each other’s and their own questions as often as possible.

Preceptors help their team members expand their awareness of and access to resources.

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish and you feed them for life. Same thing goes for online research!

Preceptors facilitate team members taking responsibility for their own actions and learning.

A directive leader takes responsibility for the cumulative outcome of the group they lead. A facilitative leader leaves the responsibility in the hands of the individuals in the group and guides them towards meeting their own responsibilities. This may be a new concept for the students in a discussion group. Encourage and develop the personal responsibility for the learning process with the students. A preceptor should not take it upon themselves.

Learning Styles

1 – Online Learning Styles Quiz - This is an excellent tool for identifying and discussing different learning styles. We use this in our Preceptor training courses and find that it yields more useful information then the more traditional focus on visual, auditive and kinesthetic Learning Styles.

2 – Learning Styles Explanations - This handout does an excellent job of explaining the result of the above Learning Styles Quiz and giving students concrete ways to adapt their educational environment to their own unique learning style.

3 – Further Information for the above Index of Learning Styles - This page further explains the methodology and data behind the research that lead to the creation of this Index of Learning Styles. The FAQs specifically discuss the various applications of this index and why the creators chose to abandon the “kinesthetic” category.

How to bring the Teaching Teams Program to your campus

We have developed a 14-step process to help in bringing the Teaching Teams Program to other campuses. Those steps and their explanations are available here. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about this process.