Publication:

Effectiveness of an ‘abridged course in medical education technology’ based on students’ evaluation of the teachers’ performance

Background To sustain the standards of quality medical education, the faculty needs to be well trained in the medical education technologies, both traditional and innovative. Students are the real beneficiaries of all training programmes conducted for faculty development and they appreciate good teaching. Their involvement in all possible aspects of teaching and learning will go a long way in achieving the best outcomes. The objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of an ‘Abridged course in Medical Education Technology’ for entry level teachers based on the students’ evaluation of the (teaching) performance of the teachers.

Methods An interventional study was carried out amongst 447 students, in which an educational intervention was done and the effectiveness of the ‘Abridged course’ was assessed. Teaching by the teacher trained through the ‘Abridged course’ formed the ‘intervention’ in the study. ‘Evaluation of the teaching performance’ by the students was the outcome studied.

Results The performance of teacher as assessed by the students had a higher mean score (61.28, SD 9.8) for residents who underwent training in medical education technology, as compared to other residents (56.81, SD 9.2) with a p-value of <0.001.

Conclusions This study highlights that an abridged course in teaching methodology for entry level medical teachers improves the quality of their teaching.