Expected qualities of a lecturer: perceptions of medical students in a remote setting

Abstract

Studies on medical student perceptions of their lecturers, in a resource poor setting is scarce. Lack of basic infrastructure hampers learning. Quality lecturers can compensate this handicap to some extent. In 2009, as a new medical school located in rural Sri Lanka 220 km away from Colombo, the Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences at Rajarata University had scarce human resources and lacked sufficient lecture halls, labs, and clinical space. In order to understand qualities students sought in a lecturer, 55 medical students were given a single, self-administered open-ended question, and responses were subjected to direct thematic analysis. Themes of -Lecturer Qualities,‖ -Lecture Preparation Procedure,‖ and -Lecture Delivery Procedure‖ were identified, and then further divided into sub-themes, the most common of which being -Speaking Style,‖ -Content Design,‖ and -Content Organization.‖ While the findings in this study closely mirrored those of similar studies, identified qualities were underpinned by implicit meaning that accurately reflects the emotional stressors among students coping with limited educational resources. Students emphasized the importance of clear communication due to language barriers and a strong desire for lecturer loyalty to their faculty and country. The examination of these real-life perceptions will not only help us better identify how to improve medical education in this medical faculty and may be useful to similar resource poor rural medical colleges around the world.

Faculty competences development components: an integrated model for the development of educational leaders in technical education institutes

“…Their interpersonal skills stimulate interactive discussions not only in the class but also beyond the classroom sessions and lecture topics (Kaendler et al, 2015). It is expected that teachers should be kind, polite, expressive and demonstrate patience and perseverance in their behavior (Agampodi et al, 2014). Such teachers are able to motivate, inspire and instill confidence in students and junior teachers (Stronge et al, 2004;Heikonen et al, 2020).…”

“…The interpersonal skills (Berkovich and Eyal, 2015) keep them in contact with students not only in the class but outside the class also (Jahangiri and Mucciolo, 2008). It is necessary for them to remain kind and polite in their behavior with students and colleagues (Agampodi et al, 2014) so as to inspire and motivate them (Reynolds and Muijs, 1999). The language proficiency increases their effectiveness of educational service because they are able to teach complex things into simpler, lucid and clear versions (Agampodi et al, 2014).…”

“…It is necessary for them to remain kind and polite in their behavior with students and colleagues (Agampodi et al, 2014) so as to inspire and motivate them (Reynolds and Muijs, 1999). The language proficiency increases their effectiveness of educational service because they are able to teach complex things into simpler, lucid and clear versions (Agampodi et al, 2014). The reflective skills of teachers encourage them to become innovative and transform their behavior what they themselves and others desire (Vescio et al, 2008).…”

“…, 2015). It is expected that teachers should be kind, polite, expressive and demonstrate patience and perseverance in their behavior (Agampodi et al. , 2014).…”

“…Teachers’ language proficiency helps them to use and adopt the systematic approach and easy methods for understanding the content in an interesting manner. Then, they develop a content, which is summarized in a simple and lucid form for the learners (Agampodi et al. , 2014).…”