SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN THE ONLINE CLASSROOM

Andree C. Swanson, EdDAshford University

Washington Park, Denver, CO© 2011 - 2014, Dr. Andree Swanson

© 2014 Dr. Andree Swanson

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION The goal of online faculty is to aid the students through online media to achieve the outcomes of the course. Faculty are ultimately responsible for: Students achieving learning outcomes Retention of students

IDENTIFIED A NEED Studies have been completed that identified the need for…Achieving a social connection (e-connectivity) with their students (Slagter van Tryon & Bishop, 2006)

Increasing interactivity that “will help the students' with their understanding” (Swanson, Hutkin, Babb, & Howell, 2010, p. 121).

PARTICIPANTS AGREED 100% participants agreed that faculty should be:

Warm, available to answer questions;

Hold students to a high standard, remain flexible to adult

learners;

Honest in all of their interactions, and demonstrate a

caring nature in the online classroom (Swanson, Hutkin, Babb, & Howell, 2010, p. 119)

ENCOURAGERS OF LEARNING Online faculty members are not Sages on the Stage in the asynchronous classroom.

Effective faculty are true guides on the side, facilitators of learning.

Effective online faculty are encouragers of learners who are often isolated and feeling alone on the other side of the computer.

(King, 1993)

SERVANT LEADERSHIP At their finest, effective online faculty

members are true servant leaders sharing the

Robert Greenleaf’s vision of servant leadership

to provide student-centered teachable

opportunities in the virtual classroom.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Hays (2008) stated that “servant leadership makes a

difference. It might not be the quickest, safest, and

simplest approach to teaching, but it is effective” (p. 5).

Demonstrate how you can make a difference using a servant

leadership approach in the classroom.

LITERATURE REVIEWImage(s) from Microsoft Clip

Art.

LITTLE TO NO INFORMATION… … on Servant Leadership in the online classroom

a few entries on k-12 +online environment (classroom)

no entries on highered +online education

PRELIMINARY STUDYImage(s) from Microsoft Clip Art.

THE SERVANT LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY

"Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy that believes the most effective leaders strive to serve others, rather than accrue power or take control . Others can include customers, partners, fellow employees and the community at large." (Rouse, 2014)

Can those others be students?

SERVANT LEADERSHIP STYLE

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

Vision

Service

Encouragement

All Stakeholders

SERVANT LEADERSHIP STYLE Term coined by Robert K. Greenleaf (1970)

Differentiated from all other leadership theories by the motivation – to serve, rather than to lead

Ultimate objective to create next generation of servant leaders.

LEO AS A LEADER AND MODEL Greenleaf (1970) used Leo, the mountain guide from Herman Hesse’s ([1956] 2011) novel, Journey to the East, as his model for the servant leader.Notably, it was not until Leo left the troupe, and it fell apart, that the group began to realize he had been leading them all along.Leo had sustained the group, empowering them, unleashing them to do that which they had envisioned possible.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Image(s) from Microsoft Clip Art.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Short survey of online faculty on their knowledge and understanding and applicability of the Servant Leader model in the online enviroment

SURVEY RESULTS

Image(s) from Microsoft Clip Art.

DEFINITION OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP

WILL THIS WORK?

FUTURE RESEARCHImage(s) from Microsoft Clip Art. Copyright © ZSRS 2013

MANY POSSIBILITIESPotentially test a group of instructors that profess to be servant leaders and see if their students think that they are and to evaluate whether this is effective.Use assessmentsDevelop assessmentsCreate more peer-reviewed research on the topicWrite a book

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

https://www.surveymonkey.com/ s/LeadershipServant

BIOGRAPHY Dr. Andree Swanson

DR ANDREE SWANSON Assistant Professor, Ashford University

Adjunct Faculty, Kaplan University

Ed.D. Educational Leadership, University of Phoenix MA, Organizational Management, University of Phoenix

MHR, Human Relations, University of Oklahoma

Worked as a Dean of General Education, National Training

Manager, for the US government (DoD, USAF, & USA), corporations,

and higher education. 

Copyright 2014, Dr. Andree Swanson