UNIT II

TRAIN THE TRAINER

Transformational leadership N icho lasT.T atu m and K rystal Fogle offer advice leadership advice to and trainers

R esearchers concerned with training and development have conducted copious amounts o f studies examining the use o f leadership within

businesses and corporations. T his research is integral to the continuous improvement o f organisations; leaders often serve as a powerful catalyst, launching an organisation into a successful future.

Specifically, the concept o f transformational leadership has shown to be a powerful, predictive tool for impacting constituents within any organisation. Trainers and consultants recognise this leadership framework’s influence, often using it as a model for educating corporate and organisation administrators on effective leadership. However, despite transformational leadership’s popularity in the corporate world, trainers and educators have failed to harness the framework’s influence in their own organisations - the classroom.

T ran sfo rm a tio n a l L eadership Bass first coined the term transformational leadership in his book, Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations . In the text, Bass claimed that transformational leadership is a process by which followers within an organisation trust, admire and respect their leader, and are in turn motivated to do more than they were initially expected to do.

Over the past several decades, scholars have elucidated upon Bass’s initial conception o f transformational leadership, identifying the scope o f qualities that these leaders have. Transformational leaders are often described as having the following

characteristics: idealised influence or charisma, inspirational motivation, individualised consideration, and intellectual stimulation.

Recognising the potential for this type of influential leadership to impact individuals, researchers have sought to identify the variety of ways that transformational leaders can influence organisational systems. W ith in organisations, transformational leaders have been found to raise constituent effort and satisfaction, encourage ethical behaviour, stimulate learning and creativity, strengthen organisational commitment and increase task performance.

As these results suggest, transformational behaviour has the potential to influence members o f an organisation in a variety o f ways; not only can these leaders impact behaviours o f constituents, but they can also influence the moral, intellectual, and ideological principles o f those they lead.

T ran sform ation al in stru cto r lea d ersh ip Transformational leaders are not unique to a single organisational context. Rather, although much o f the research on transformational leadership has been conducted within the business settings, the framework of transformational leadership can be applied to an unlimited number o f organisational contexts.

For the context o f this study, Pounder asserted that: “because it is possible to conceive of the classroom as a small social organisation with instructor as leader and students as followers...it is theoretically possible to test the effect o f employing (transformational)... leadership in an instructional context”. Thus, transformational instructor leadership is the process by which instructors stimulate and

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References Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and per­ formance beyond ex­ pectations. New York: Free Press.

Pounder, J. S. (2008a). Transfor­ mational classroom leadership: A novel approach to evaluating classroom perfor­ mance. As­ sessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(3), 233- 243.

motivate students within the classroom to exceed ordinary expectations by demonstrating trust, consideration, care, and intelligence.

As with transformational leadership theory, transformational instruction is described using four interrelated behavioural dimensions as explained below. W hile each of the four characteristics is paralleled to those of transformational leadership, these traits can be contextualised to reflect better practices for trainers and teachers in instructional contexts. 1. Idealised Influence or Charisma (II)

Transformational instructors serve as role models to their students. They clearly articulate their values and beliefs and embody them in their everyday actions. By doing this, these instructors build an atmosphere o f trust and respect for their students.

2. Inspirational Motivation (IM) Transformational instructors cast a compelling vision of what students are capable o f achieving. W ith optimism and enthusiasm, these educators set high expectations for their students to meet in the classroom, motivating them to try their hardest to succeed.

3. Individualised Consideration (IC) Transformational instructors are sensitive to the physical, psychological and emotional needs o f their students. These educators seek to understand the individual situations of each student within the classroom to best help them prosper.

4. Intellectual Stimulation (IS) Transformational instructors encourage students to look at issues and concepts with a fresh perspective, challenging them to think more deeply about what they are being taught. By doing this, these instructors hope to inspire students to reconsider commonly held conceptions.

within organisations have shown to have an effect on their constituents, these findings confirm that transformational instructors are thought to be equally as impactful within the classroom. Clearly, the implementation o f this framework by instructors and trainers in their own teaching style is likely to have significant impacts on the learning process.

W ith this in mind, how can instructors and trainers implement transformational leadership into their classrooms? Pulling from examinations and conceptualisations in research, below are some practical steps that instructors and trainers can take to implement characteristics o f transformational leaders in the classroom.

W ith in the past decade, researchers have also sought to study the effect that transformational instructors can have on members within their organisation, namely, the students. W ith in the classroom, transformational instructor leadership has been found to have a strong relationship with student affective learning, extra effort, perceptions o f instructor effectiveness, cognitive learning, self-efficacy, student cognitive, behavioural, emotional and agentic engagement, along with a multitude o f other impacts.

Just as transformational leaders

Idealised Influence or Charisma (II) Clearly articulate your values and beliefs during class. Include these values in how you discuss projects and activities, and invite students to be active participants as community members who embody these values for example, by pointing out when students exhibit the values you cherish. Formulating a classroom code o f conduct with your students’ input cements those values.

Practice the values and beliefs that you preach in the classroom. If, for example, one o f your values is punctuality, be on time to class and give feedback in a timely manner. Select two or three

F e b ru a ry 2016 TJ

TRAIN THE TRAINER

P r a c tic e th e v a lu e s y o u p r e a c h . I f o n e o f y o u r v a lu e s is p u n c tu a lity , he o n tim e to c la s s a n d g iv e f e e d b a c k in a tim e ly m a n n e r

Nicholas T. Tatum and Krystal Fogle are instructors and Ph.D. stu­ dents. Nick at the University of Kentucky and Krystal at Texas A&M University and they can be contacted at nick.tatum@ uky.edu or krystal.fogle® tamu.edu

ways you want to be intentional about modelling each value you identify for your classroom.

Take time to explain the reasoning behind your behaviours and decisions. Tell students why you have constructed your classroom policies and projects a particular way; explain why the assignments and policies aid intellectual and personal growth, for example. Identify this orally, in class, in writing and in your syllabus.

In sp ir a tio n a l M o tiv a tio n (IM ) Set challenging, but attainable goals for students. Identify w hat skills students and trainees should already possess when entering your course and what skills they will need in subsequent courses. T hen, when identifying course objectives, set your goals at the upper end of what you think your students can achieve.

Express optimism to students about what level o f work you think they are capable o f achieving. T his can be done both collectively and individually. W h en providing w ritten feedback, point out areas in which they are already successful. Then, suggest to them specific tips to bring other areas up to your expectations, ideally using your rubric for that project: “Good argument; now be sure to support it with evidence” versus “You do not support this claim.”

Present content and assignments with natural enthusiasm. W hen explaining assignments, clarify why this work will be important, how it supports your classroom values, and why it is an exciting project. Tell stories about how content or projects have aided students in the past. Pick content you care about personally.

In d iv id u a lised C o n sid era tio n (IC): Make an effort to know about what factors may be influencing students outside o f the classroom. As students or trainees arrive, ask them about the activities they are involved in and show a continued interest throughout your interactions.

W h en students or trainees are experiencing crises, make time to meet w ith them to encourage them.

Attem pt to connect course material to the unique interests and experiences o f students during class. Once you know what activities your students participate in, use examples pertinent to those activities. I f you have half the football team in your course, use examples and analogies pertaining to football. I f all your participants watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians, talk about Kim and Kanye in your lesson.

Approach students who may be struggling in a caring, non-judgmental way, arrange to meet (if applicable) and when you do, point out successes you see in their work, then ask them what you can do to help them be successful in your course. Remind students and trainees of your availability to them.

In te lle ctu a l S tim u la tio n (IS): Design new and exciting activities to give students the opportunity to think critically about concepts. These activities should be relevant to the students or trainees - if you are using a case study from the 1980s, explain to them why it is still relevant. I f possible, utilise popular culture, current events and traditions particular to your university or geographical area. T hen describe to the class how implementing the course concepts in the activity will help them grow because o f it.

Play the devil’s advocate, challenge the way students or trainees think about their values and beliefs. I f your class is traditionally conservative or liberal, for example, ask questions that invite them to question those assumptions. Invite discussion when students or trainees support opposing views. Don’t immediately insert your political or ideological beliefs into the discussion, but ask them to examine critically their own values.

Provide multiple perspectives on issues rather than just one view. Rather than teaching by rote, teach by syllogism, inviting the students to fill in premises and examining what claims you might come to. T hen invite students and trainers to compare those claims with the claims o f your books and resources.

C onclu sion As leaders o f students and trainees, we need to strive continually to improve our presence and influence in the classroom. Clearly, utilising transformational leadership as a framework offers strong potential to greatly impact those we impart knowledge to. We should strive to transform the classrooms that we lead, not just maintain them. T J

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