Teaching Styles in Higher Education: The Case of a Medical School

ÁNGEL CENTENO; ÁNGELA CORENGIA; CECILIA PRIMOGERIO; LAURA LLULL; BELÉN MESURADO; JULIETA LAUDADIO

New York

Conferencia; 12th International Ottawa Conference on Clinical Competence; 2006

Background. Plenty of research has been conducted on learning styles at different educational levels, including university. However, teaching styles have not been addressed in a similar way, even though its influence on learning styles is important. We define a teaching style as a pedagogical behavior characterized by typical educational practices many times stereotyped and immutable, sustained in time, based consciously or not in personal ideas, principles and experiences. Objectives. To identify the teaching characteristics of faculty members in medicine, that define a determined style, and compare it with those of two other different disciplines: law school and communication schools. Six areas were investigated: 1) faculty members vision of their role as educators, 2) their vision of students, 3) educational activities, 4) contents selected, 5) aim of teaching, and 6) assessment. Methods. We observed and interviewed faculty members from three different schools (Medicine, Law and Communication) that held a position as adjunct professor or higher, that taught a core discipline, and with full time appointment. Two researchers independently observed these faculty members teaching activities, using a previously designed semi structured observation guide. After the observation the faculty members were interviewed using a structured interview guide. Results of the observations and of the interviews were independently coded and compared. Results. The main elements present in the medical school sample were: rigor in information, sense of duty, vocation to study, capability of facing difficult situations, predominance of information related educational activities and practical teaching, the use of a lot of examples to bridge theory and practice, and the efforts to be updated. Transmission of information was predominant over analysis in medical school. Faculty posed factual questions in medical school, while rhetoric questions were used in law school and open-ended questions in school of communication. Faculty in medical school were time constrained while in law and communication they were more relaxed. Medical faculty envisioned their student as someone that needed to acquire studying and rigor habits, while in law school critical skills were fostered, and in communication school the focus was on participation and creative analytical capability. Faculty linear information transmission was the main educational resource used in medical school, while use and discussion of cases, news and day-to-day situations were the main resource in the other two. There were no differences in the assessment of students between the three schools. Conclusions. A definite teaching style in medical school could be identified, and it differs from styles at other disciplines, mainly in the way they perceive their students in how faculty envision their teaching role, and in the predominance of content transmission methods over case analysis. Recognizing different teaching styles can serve as a necessary way to improve faculty-teaching skills according to their particular styles, and incorporate those characteristics of other disciplines that may enhance medical education.