study of most important factors influencing the effectiveness of teaching from viewpoint of graduate students: AHP model approach

To achieve an effective learning environment, it is of high priority to identify factors affecting teaching methods employed by a teacher and to deal with them from students’ perspective. The objective of this study is to determine the most important factors that influence the effectiveness of academics’ teaching methods from his/her graduate students’ point of view. This is a cross sectional-analytic study conducted in 2014. The participants were selected by census method according to the Registrar data of the School of Allied Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The data collection tool was a questionnaire containing demographic questions as well as nine questions about effective factors on teaching. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were assessed, and the data was analyzed using analytic hierarchy process and Expert Choice V. 11 software. According to the students participating in the study, the eloquent, simple expression and clear conveyance of the subject were the most important factors (0.216), while the assessment of students at each session, in the mid-term exam, and in the final exam was of the lowest importance regarding the effectiveness of academic teaching (0.057). No significant difference was found between male and female students considering factors affecting effective teaching. Results indicated that the eloquent and simple expression of subjects has the greatest impact on teaching effectiveness. Therefore, to promote the current situation, the high-ranking educational authorities of the university are required to take into account the quality of teaching effectiveness, for instance, to organize appropriate and purposeful training courses.