A survey on teaching style of academic members in Rafsanjan University of medical sciences

Introduction: Teaching styles and learning are behaviors that teachers and students show in learning process. Identifying teaching styles and personal charactristics of the academic members can be useful for their instructional patterns and students achivement. So, this study was designed to determine the teaching styles of academic members of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (HUMS) in 2009. Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on 100 academic members of RUMs in faculties and educational and therapeutical centers, by non random sampling method. After evaluation of reliability and validity of translated Grasha's quosionnaire, the main study was carried out. The questionnaires were delivered to the academic members and the collected data were analysed by the SPSS16 software. Analysing data were performed based on Grasha's scoring key and its norms. Data were analysed with descreptive methods and t-test and Chi- square statistical test. Results: Results showed that primarily preferred teaching styles of academic members are expert, delegator and secondry styles are formal authority, personal model and facilitator style. Primary styles for MSc, PhD staff and medical specialists were expert and for undergraduated staff were delegator and facilitator style. In faculty of medicine, teaching styles were expert and delegator but in faculty of dentistry it was delegator. Expert, formal authority and facilitator and delegator are primary styles in nursing faculty and academic members of educational and therapeutical centers had all teaching styles. The difference between teaching styles and site of employment was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: According to the preffered teaching styles of the academic members, focus on effective teaching methods such as interactive teaching, classroom symposium, independent study, discussion and small group for facilitating students' learning are suggested.