Comparing preferred teaching styles of medical faculty: an international multicenter study among seven medical schools (Preprint)

BACKGROUND In the current wave of educational reforms, understanding teaching styles of medical faculty will help modify instructional strategies for effective teaching. Few studies have probed unique teaching styles of medical academics. OBJECTIVE This study compared the preferred teaching styles of faculty from seven medical schools. METHODS The validated Grasha-Riechmann teaching style inventory was administered online to the entire medical faculty actively involved in teaching in 7 medical schools in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sudan, and the Netherlands. RESULTS We received 248 responses from 460 invitees (response rate; 54%). Overall, there was an agreement with the majority of suggested teaching styles. However, we also observed significant variations across seniority, gender, and institutions. The most common teaching style, stimulating students’ inquisitive behaviors to satisfy their curiosity, was preferred by 195 (68%) teachers. As many as 117 (47%) academics disagreed with the teaching philosophy of delivering course contents by strictly following learning outcomes. Interestingly, the teaching styles of young teachers with less than 10 years of experience (112/248) more closely matched with students’ learning styles. Female teachers (114/248) were more willingly to solicit their students for understanding course contents, while male teachers tended to allow more autonomy by allowing students to set their learning agenda. CONCLUSIONS This study showed a student-centered approach and motivating students for the discovery of their scientific curiosity as the most preferred teaching styles. These findings can help educators in modifying medical curricula and in developing faculty enhancement programs to enrich the learning climate.