How can one challenge and improve their teaching style?

I’m very happy to see your question. I don’t know what level you are teaching at, however, unless teachers at any level question their effectiveness, the quality of the classroom experience will not improve. Good for you.

Most PhD programs don’t have formal instruction in adult learning and learning facilitation (teaching). Mine did and I’m forever grateful. And ended up teaching that class later, throughout my career.

First, we’ve learned a lot about how adults learn. See for example, Ken Bain’s book What the Best College Teachers Do. In essence, adults learn best when they are actively involved discussing issues that mean something to them and when they believe they can and want to understand.

In that regard, lectures have several disadvantages. They are unilateral, one-way communication from instructor to student(s). Second, they tend to bore students. Third, they tend to disavow that students can read (textbooks). Fourth, instructors tend to focus on “covering their material” rather than on what’s being learned (until exam time a month or more later). Fifth, instructors are often evaluated on their research and not their teaching.

I got my doctorate at Harvard Business School where case method was king. The core philosophy of case method includes the idea that “wisdom can’t be told”—the title of an article we read on day one. So, one is facilitating learning, not teaching per se. Students read theory chapters or “technical notes” and then cases, descriptions of current, real, not made-up, business problems. In class, the instructor’s role is to ask good questions, gently guiding the discussion through important topical arenas at the STUDENTS’ PACE, not the instructor’s. Students talk more than the instructor. We would spend eight hours in a team of nine discussing how to “teach” or unveil each case. Most instructors aren’t that into how they teach. We were/are.

We watched the ratio of teacher talk to student talk. If we were talking too much, student engagement would drop. We watched the energy level in the room. I always wanted to create a “magic bubble” in the room where everyone was completely engaged in what was going on. Creating that required multiple techniques, multiple channels, and orchestrating all of that seamlessly. Any speed bump or mistake disrupted the flow, the “zone”, the resonance in the room.

I wrote a book with my colleague on all of this, Teaching Management. I’ve also outlined it with text and videos on my website, Level Three Leadership

In the end, the thing I loved most about what was for me a wonderful career was those classes, fully engaged with everyone intent on the magic bubble in the room.

I hope this helps somewhat. Your question implies a complete review of your VABEs about teaching. And gradually, shifting from teaching stuff to facilitating learning for people.