A Study of a Functional Approach to Defining Instructional Competencies and Measuring Faculty Performance in Medical Laboratory Technology.

In order to develop a humanistic approach to evaluating faculty, a pilot study was conducted of 27 students and 14 instructors in an associate degree program for medical laboratory technicians. Selected personal dimensions of the sample population were examined to chart each individual's personality, theoretical learning preferences, modalities of inference, and intellectual disposition. Faculty were additionally administered a Teaching Styles Inventory. The findings were utilized in an inservice training program which contrasted student and faculty learning styles with faculty teaching styles; as a result, faculty were committed to a more creative concept of quality and efficiency in teaching. Two strategies were employed in assessing the effectiveness of this commitment: first, students ranked instructors on a number of instructional practices; second, grade point averages were compared at entry and exit levels, revealing a significant rise. On the basis of information gained in the study, a Classification of Instructional Competencies was devised which categorized professional behaviors (technical, therapeutic, conative) in six areas (curriculum, instruction, evaluation, college service, professional activities, continuing education) into a series of detailed goal statements. A survey of the literature, bibliography, and cognitive mapping instruments are appended. (NHM)