Quality of Communication Between Professors and University Students in the Process of Learning

Abstract

Teaching requires the incorporation of communication skills, and these potentials may affect the outcomes of the learning process. This study evaluated the quality of communication between professors and students during the process of learning Dentistry. A questionnaire was developed and applied to evaluate their perceptions about their communications in an undergraduate Dentistry course. The questionnaire had ten items to analyze professors’ self-perception and ten for students’ perceptions, using a Likert-like scale and a final open question. During its construction, it was sent to five specialists to analyze content validity. The open question gathered suggestions to improve and intensify communications effectively and to identify vulnerabilities. Total scores ranged from 10 to 50, with 10 as the worst perception, and 50, as the best. The scores were calculated by adding all answers and then dividing that sum by the total number of items. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to evaluate the instrument’s internal consistency. The level of significance was set at 0.05%. The Student t-test was used to determine differences between groups. Professors’ self-perceptions and students' perceptions of the quality of communication of the university teaching staff during the student's learning process had statistically significant differences. Professors classified their ability to communicate when emitting and receiving information as satisfactory. Students, however, did not fully agree with them, particularly on the items about receiving information. The perceptions identified in this study may lead to a new direction in the communicative behavior of professors and students.