Teaching effectiveness analysis plan applied to lectures in medical physiology.

To improve and thus strengthen its teaching program, the Department of Physiology at the University of South Alabama voluntarily embarked on a multiphasic self-assessment of its medical teaching program. One phase of the greater assessment plan included an analysis of the teaching methods of each faculty member. To design and implement this phase, the services of a teaching consultant from the College of Education were obtained. The implementation of the objectives as established by the consultant resulted in 1) the development of a systematic and consistent method of evaluating the teaching practices of the faculty through the design of a standard observation instrument for use in analyzing the teaching of each individual; 2) the sampling of the teaching of each of the seven participating faculty members; 3) the collection and critical review of teaching materials used; 4) an analysis of the effectiveness of the faculty; and 5) the submission of a written report of evaluation results. The seven participating faculty members were observed during the delivery of two lectures each presented to the freshman medical class. Based on the analysis of both the lectures and materials used, a written critique of each faculty member was submitted. Lecture strengths and weaknesses, both of individual members and of the whole department were summarized. Finally, the results of a survey taken of the faculty in which the participants were asked to respond to a series of questions regarding the self-assessment program were most favorably accepted by all participating faculty.