Teachers Evaluation Methods in Medical Education: Round Views of Faculty Members and Educational Experts

Background: Since there is no agreement on the best approach of teachers’ evaluation, this study was conducted to determine medical teachers’ evaluation methods and clarify the viewpoints of Iranian faculty members toward them.Materials and Methods: A mix method study was conducted in two phases, systematic review and survey, in Tehran University of Medical Sciences on 400 faculty members. In phase one, 24 studies were analyzed among 1520 and based on that, the viewpoints of faculty members about 14 methods were assessed through a validated questionnaire. Independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used for data analysis. Results: The participants’ age mean was 48.62+5.23 and most of them were assistant professors (121/36.01%). About 280 participants (83.3%) chose “mixed method rating” as the best way of evaluation; 68.7% of the participants though “student rating” cannot be an appropriate indicative for evaluating teachers’ performance. The findings indicated statistical relationships between the average of some evaluation methods (student rating, peer evaluation, self-ratings, teaching scholarship, teaching awards) and the faculty members’ gender (P<0.05). There was also a significant relationship in average of student rating, peer evaluation, mentor’s advice and self-ratings with participants’ age (P<0.05). Conclusion: None of the evaluation methods can be sufficient to show a correct status of teachers’ performance. It is obvious that mix method evaluation as a combination of different measures and methods can be considered as a comprehensive approach; it is recommended to be applied in this university, and then compare teachers’ satisfaction and performance before and after this transition.