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

1. SERVANT
LEADERSHIP IN THE
ONLINE CLASSROOM
Andree C. Swanson,
EdD
Ashford University
Washington Park, Denver, CO
© 2011 - 2014, Dr. Andree Swanson
© 2014 Dr. Andree Swanson

2. INTRODUCTION

3. 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

4. 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).

5. 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)

6. 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)

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. LITERATURE REVIEW
Image(s) from Microsoft Clip Art.

10. 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

11. PRELIMINARY STUDY
Image(s) from Microsoft Clip Art.

12. 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
Can those others be students?

13. SERVANT LEADERSHIP
STYLE

14. SERVANT
LEADERSHIP
Vision
Service
Encouragement
All Stakeholders

15. 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

16. 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.

17. RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
Image(s) from Microsoft Clip Art.

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

19. SURVEY RESULTS
Image(s) from Microsoft Clip Art.

20. DEFINITION OF SERVANT
LEADERSHIP

21. WILL THIS WORK?

22. FUTURE RESEARCH
Image(s) from Microsoft Clip Art.Copyright © ZSRS 2013

23. MANY POSSIBILITIES
Potentially 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 assessments
Develop assessments
Create more peer-reviewed research on the topic
Write a book

24. CONCLUSION

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

26. BIOGRAPHY Dr. Andree
Swanson

27. 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