Teaching Physiology to Dental Students: Matching Teaching and Learning Styles in a South African Dental School

This study compared the preference for learning styles of dental students in a small class in physiology at a South African university with the preference for teaching styles of the lecturers. It also analyzed and evaluated the teaching methods and aids the lecturers used. The study was done in the last teaching block of the year after students have been exposed to all the lecturing styles in the same premedical subject. Two separate questionnaires were used in the study in order to evaluate teaching methods and teaching media used by the lecturers and to measure the teaching methods and teaching media that students preferred. Through a critical analysis of the data, it was found that the students preferred cooperative and active teaching/learning experiences more than the lecturers are using them. The study emphasizes the importance of students being actively involved in the teaching-learning process through cooperative methods. This may enhance their ability to utilize cognitive skills such as creative thinking, interpretation, critical thinking, and problem-solving.