Evaluation of learner satisfaction with two different teaching approaches

Abstract

Introduction The main aim of this project was to apply principles of andragogy. Andragogy is defined as “the art and science of helping adults learn” in contrast to pedagogy which is teaching children. It makes theoretical sense to do a needs assessment of learners’ needs before planning teaching. Objectives Reflection is a key component of clinical teaching (Schon 1987). Clinical teachers need to assess the impact of their teaching. The idea behind this project was just to do that. Most of the teaching is based on teacher perceived needs of the curriculum. Methods Residents and medical students rotating through inpatient medical clinical teaching unit were asked about what they will like to be taught at the beginning. The attending physician continued to deliver one traditional lecture (lecture A) and another lecture based on learner’s choice (lecture B). The learners were asked to fill out a questionnaire at the end of the rotation anonymously to give feedback on value, usefulness and future preference of both lectures. Results This study was done from October 3rd, 2011-May 21st, 2012. A total of 19 residents and students completed the questionnaire. The majority of residents and students favored the lecture of their choice as being more useful (84.2% vs. 15.7%). Lecture A was rated to be better prepared by 73.6% and lecture B by 26.3%. About 21% thought that they will only like to have the lecture of their choice alone. 78.9% of the learners said that they will like to have both lectures in the future. None of them wanted lecture A alone in the future. Conclusions While it is not always appropriate to focus exclusively on resident-perceived learning needs, the aim of this study was to elicit and acknowledge these learning needs and be prepared to adjust and modify the teaching agenda accordingly. It was felt at the end of the study that this mutually agreeable teaching agenda ultimately led to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning.