The Power of Metaphor: Learning Space and Faculty Development.

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Health science education is increasingly adopting student-centered approaches.
• This pedagogical shift influences classroom design, faculty training, and learner/faculty selection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of professional development workshop environments on health science faculty's teaching beliefs and values.
• To compare the effects of traditional lecture halls versus collaborative learning classrooms on faculty perceptions of their roles.

Main Methods:

• Faculty participated in professional development workshops in either a traditional lecture hall or a collaborative learning classroom.
• Metaphor analysis was used, with participants drawing and labeling their conception of teaching.
• Drawings and metaphors were categorized by non-study raters into teacher-centered, learner-centered, or learner-driven domains.

Main Results:

• Faculty in collaborative classrooms predominantly adopted learner-centered role perceptions (59.67%).
• Faculty in traditional lecture halls predominantly adopted teacher-centered role perceptions (84.93%).

Conclusions:

• The learning environment significantly influences faculty beliefs regarding their teaching roles.
• Implications for faculty development strategies are discussed in the context of transitioning to student-centered health science education.