Preferred teaching styles of medical faculty: an international multi-center study

Nihar Ranjan Dash, Salman Yousuf Guraya, Mohammad Tahseen Al Bataineh, Mohamed Elhassan Abdalla, Muhamad Saiful Bahri Yusoff, Mona Faisal Al-Qahtani, Walther N.K.A. van Mook, Muhammad Saeed Shafi, Hamdi Hameed Almaramhy, Wail Nuri Osman Mukhtar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: In the current wave of educational reforms, understanding teaching styles of medical faculty can help modify instructional strategies for effective teaching. Few studies have probed distinctive teaching styles of medical faculty. We compared preferred teaching styles of faculty from seven medical schools in United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Sudan. Methods: The validated Grasha-Riechmann teaching style inventory was administered online for data collection and used SPSS version 20.0 for statistical analysis. Results: Of the 460 invitees, 248 responded (response rate; 54%). Delegator teaching style was most common with a highest median and mean of 2.38 and 2.45, respectively. There was a significant correlation between expert and authority teaching styles, correlation coefficient 0.62. Similarly, we found a significant correlation between authority teaching style and nature of curriculum, correlation coefficient 0.30. Multiple regression analysis showed that only authority teaching style and male gender had significant correlation. Interestingly, 117 (47%) teachers disagreed with the teaching philosophy of delivering course contents by strictly following learning outcomes. Female teachers (114/248) were more willing to negotiate with their students regarding how and what to teach in their course, while male teachers tended to allow more autonomy by allowing students to set their learning agenda. Conclusions: This study showed that the medical teachers preferred delegator teacher style that promotes students’ collaboration and peer-to-peer learning. Most teachers are conscious of their teaching styles to motivate students for scientific curiosity. These findings can help medical educators to modify their teaching styles for effective learning.

Original languageEnglish
Article number480
Pages (from-to)480
JournalBMC Medical Education
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Instructional strategies
  • Medical curriculum
  • Problem based learning
  • Students learning style
  • Teaching style

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