Comparison between faculty and students perspectives on the qualities of a good medical teacher: A cross-sectional study
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to explore faculty and students` perceptions on the qualities of good medical teachers, and to determine whether the opinions of faculty and students differed.
Methods: Two quantitative surveys were performed at Qassim University College of Medicine (QUCOM) using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire distributed to the faculty and students of the college. It captured their opinions about qualities and attributes of good teachers. Each item was measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS.
Results: A total of 90 faculty and 356 students responded with a response rate of 64%. Overall scores on the performance and personality scales were similar between faculty and students. Faculty and students agreed that "Organizes good lectures / use of audiovisual aids" and " Expert on the subject /knowledgeable" are important attributes and that telling jokes and the sense of humor or sharing personal experiences are not as important. Students felt it is important for an educator to be respectful, good planner and examiner, whereas faculty members felt that communication skills are of high importance.
Conclusion: Faculty development programs should be designed in order to help faculty develop and improve upon the identified qualities.
Keywords:
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).