Favorable teaching styles and teacher characteristics based on the perceptions of medical and non-medical students

Objective: This study aims to survey the perceptions of medical and non-medical students in terms of their preferred teaching styles and teacher characteristics. Methods: A questionnaire consisting of 10 teacher characteristics and 11 teaching styles was used as a survey tool. All second-year university students in the fields of medicine, nursing, humanities, and engineering at SWU and second-year medical students at two private universities (Siam University and Rangsit University) in the 2017 academic year were invited to complete this survey. Results: A total of 807 students responded to the questionnaire. The perceptions on teaching styles and teacher characteristics of medical students did not differ much from those of non-medical students. The most favorable teacher characteristic was the teachers’ expertise in their subjects (52.3%), followed by the friendliness/cheerfulness (31.0%), and the willingness in helping students (7.0%). Most students prefer to learn in a lecture-based style. The students voted that a lecture with a relaxing classroom environment was their number one most favored teaching technique (43.3%), followed by the training/practicing/lab working (23.2%), and the lecture with encouraging students to solve questions (11.6%). Conclusion: Field of study does not have much influence on undergraduate students’ favored teacher characteristics and teaching styles. Even though information technology has drastically progressed, most students still prefer to learn with a lecture-based style. Without the students’ passion and their willingness to engage in the teaching process, applying an active learning technique may not be possible.