Training for conducting conversations professionally across domains – comparing communication training in biology teacher and medical education

Abstract

ABSTRACT In higher education, the training of students’ communicative skills necessary for conducting professional conversations is gaining attention across domains – including medical and teacher education. Although teachers need communicative and content-specific knowledge for subject conversations on biological topics, biology-specific communication training is rare. Research on an interdisciplinary perspective on communication training, with the use of simulated conversations with standardised interlocutors, would close this gap. This study compares such training in medical and biology teacher education. We questioned pre-service biology teachers (n = 25) and medical students (n = 31) participating in communication training about their fear of failure in future professional conversations, and their perceived utility value of communication training. After some input, single participants in both groups simulated a conversation with a standardised caregiver or patient. Both training sessions ended with reflections on the simulation. Our results of t-tests and ANOVA indicate that training in subject conversations about sex education reduced the fear of failure, increased the perceived utility value, and indicate that future physicians and pre-service biology teachers benefit comparably from training. The findings and limitations of the study are discussed.