The Warm Demander instructional approach

Active Demandingness

The Warm Demander

Holds high expectations for students conveyed with warmth and support. This approach tends to support learning for the widest range of students. 

• Explicit focus on building rapport and trust. Expresses warmth through non-verbal ways like smiling, touch, warm or firm tone of voice, and good-natured teasing. 
• Shows personal regard for students by inquiring about important people and events in their lives. 
• Earns the right to demand engagement and effort. 
• Very competent with the technical side of instruction. 
• Holds high standards and offers emotional support and instructional scaffolding to dependent learners for reaching the standards. 
• Encourages productive struggle. 
• Viewed by students as caring because of personal regard and “tough love” stance. 

The Technocrat

Holds high expectations for students while maintaining professional distance. This approach can be highly effective for independent learners, but dependent learners may struggle.  

• Has no explicit focus on building rapport. Doesn’t focus on developing relationships with students, but does show enthusiasm for the subject matter. 
• Holds high standards and expects students to meet them. 
• Very competent with the technical side of instruction. 
• Able to support independent learners better than dependent learners. 
• Viewed by students as likeable even if distant because of teacher competence and enthusiasm for subject. 

The Sentimentalist

Demonstrates warmth and respect, but at the cost of lowered expectations for student learning. This technique can prevent students from engaging in productive struggle, which is important for learning.  

• Explicit focus on building rapport and trust. Expresses warmth through verbal and nonverbal communication. 
• Shows personal regard for students. 
• Makes excuses for students’ lack of academic performance. 
• Consciously holds lower expectations out of pity because of poverty or oppression. Tries to protect students from failure. 
• Either over scaffolds instruction or dumbs down the curriculum. 
• Doesn’t provide opportunities for students to engage in productive struggle. 
• Allows students to engage in behavior that is not in their best interest. 
• Liked by students but viewed as a push-over. 

The Elitist

Maintains professional distance while holding low expectations for students, especially those of marginalized identities. Instructors with this style are often perceived as exhibiting favoritism toward students similar to themselves, which makes learning a challenge for many students, especially dependent learners.  

• No explicit or implicit focus on building rapport or trust. 
• Keeps professional distance from students unlike himself. 
• Unconsciously holds low expectations for dependent learners. 
• Organizes instruction around independent learners and provides little scaffolding. 
• Mistakes cultural differences of culturally and linguistically diverse students as intellectual deficits. 
• Makes certain students feel pushed out of the intellectual life of the classroom. 
• Allows dependent students to disengage from learning and engage in off-task behavior as long as not disruptive. 
• Viewed by students as cold and uncaring. 

Passive Leniency