Did the results of your TPI fit your image of yourself as a teacher? Do you think the TPI results are different for the same person teaching online and face-to-face?
The results of the TPI test were interesting for me, because I teach adult learners. Sometimes my instruction is done face to face, and sometimes it is via distance learning (webinars, go to meetings, videos, etc.)
I wonder if it is completely different for me. I am always aware that I am teaching clients who have paid for me to teach them, for my training and for the products we offer. My TPI numbers were all in the low 30s and some in the low 40s - by far "nurturing" was my highest score. Again, I wonder if that is because my primary goal is to make them happy - which means I've made them learn and understand - which means they will continue to be clients (and I will continue to have a job :)) Although it is not exactly the same, the question arose during discussions about only paying a teacher when a course is completed. My situation could be interpreted in the same way (although it is different.) If my clients are not happy, my company can lose big business and I could potentially lose my job. I am not sure whether regular teachers (in a non-corporate setting) feel the same way? I would be curious to know. "Customer comes first."
When I taught for the sake of only teaching, in non-profit/volunteer situations, it was for adults as well. I found that I tailored my instruction to their individual desires and goals, because I wanted them to come back and complete the course/learn what I was teaching. I knew it would give them better job skills and it would be worth it, but these particular adults were tough to keep interested. If it was not easy enough, they felt futile - if it was not tough enough, they wouldn't learn what they needed to learn. I suppose this is also how most teachers feel. In that case I would say I was more nurturing as well, but it was because of the student's nature - these people had seen very tough times and needed to feel good about themselves and what they could accomplish/learn.
I can't see how it would be any different in either situation for online teachers of any type. I wonder what others will notice.
I found your thoughts on nurturing to be interesting. I also have done quite a lot of one-on-one teaching, even feel my greatest affinity for younger learners, but didn't score as highly on nurturing as I expected. I wonder if it has more to do with temperament and personality as well as what we do. I do agree with your impression that a teacher will probably teach from the same perspective dominances and recessive traits regardless of the platform -- online or traditional.
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