Why a teacher centered medical school curriculum may result in a poor educational environment?

Abstract

Context: Students’ achievements, satisfaction, and success have been found to correlate with their perception of their educational environment (EE). Objectives: The objectives of the present study were to identify (a) the medical students’ perceptions of their EE at a school with a teacher-centered curriculum (b) the reasons behind the items with low ratings and (c) ways to improve the EE at this school. Methods: In this article, the focus will be on the qualitative part of the mixed method of study, which was conducted at a large medical school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during 2006-2007. A total of 1132 students filled out a bilingual (Arabic and English) version of the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory. Five focus group discussions with 28 students were conducted. The low scoring areas of the DREEM were used as input for the discussion. Findings: The mean total DREEM score for the medical school was 94.7 (± 21.5) out of a maximum of 200. The main curriculum variables contributing to poor DREEM scores were curriculum overload, stress, lack of feedback, and poor teaching skills. The possible solutions to these problems, as suggested by the students were to involve the students in the learning process, courses to help the faculty to develop their teaching skills, assessments with provision of feedback, stronger student support system and introduction of study skills courses for student’s. Conclusions: This study provides insight into the reasons associated with a poor learning climate. The strategies to promote a healthy EE point to relatively more student-centered elements in the curriculum and the introduction of a study skills course in the 1st year.