Pre-athletic training students perform better on written tests with teacher-centered instruction

There are many different methods of instruction used in the academic setting. Little experimental research exists examining which mode is more effective in educating students. The purpose of this study was to compare scores obtained on the written and the practical examinations of students on a single topic taught through either a teacher-centered format or a student-centered format. A 2 x 2 x 6 factorial design was used in this study. Independent variables were teaching style (teacher-centered instruction and student-centered instruction), order (first or second), and learning style (competitive, collaborative, participant, avoidant, dependent, and independent). The dependent variables were the scores obtained on a written and a practical examination of gait and crutch fitting. Forty pre-athletic training students in their first semester of their first year (16 males, 24 females) participated in this study. The Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Style Scale was used to determine the learning styles of the subjects. The total subject pool was divided randomly into two groups, one taught by teacher-centered instruction and the other by student-centered instruction. Both groups took the same written and practical examinations, and scores were recorded. A 2 x 2 x 6 fixed model multivariate analysis of variance was performed. A difference was observed for teaching style (F2,21 = 5.35, p = 0.01), on the combination of written and practical exam scores. A difference also was observed on the written examination scores with the teacher-centered format producing better results (p < 0.05); but teacher-centered format scores did not differ from student-centered scores on the practical examination (p > 0.05). Teacher-centered instruction improves written test performance compared with student-centered instruction. When initially teaching a skill, direct teacher involvement may help students learn and perform better.