Preferred Teaching Styles of Medical and Non-Medical Sciences Faculty Members: A Systematic Review

Background: The importance of teaching and its underlying role in achieving educational goals in theoretical and practical areas increase the importance of the teaching styles of teachers. The present study aimed to explore and compare the teaching styles of medical and non-medical sciences faculty members in Iran.Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, a systemic search of online databases (Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, SID, CIVILICA, Magiran, and Google Scholar search engine) was conducted for relevant studies with no time limit up to March ۲۰۲۲. Two reviewers evaluated the quality of eligible studies and carried out the selection procedure. The quality of the information was evaluated using the STROBE positioning guidelines.Results: Finally, nine studies (n=۱۵۲۲ faculty members) were selected. The dominant teaching styles of medical faculty members were interactive teaching style (۶۰.۵%), formal authority (۳۳.۹%), and expert (۳۳.۷%). The personal model (۷.۷%) was the least dominant teaching style. There was no significant relationship between teaching styles and school type, teaching experience, and academic rank (P>۰.۰۵). The most dominant teaching styles of none-medical faculty members were expert (mean = ۴۲.۶), facilitator (mean = ۴۱.۷۵), and formal authority (mean = ۴۱.۴۱). The personal model (mean = ۳.۴۱) was the least dominant teaching style. There was a significant relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their teaching styles (P<۰.۰۵). Conclusion: Faculty members of medical and non-medical sciences had nearly the same method of teaching, and the majority of the faculty members preferred to present concepts through application and also encouraged deep learning, cooperative learning, and cognitive processing.