Short and long term effects of a teacher-training workshop in medical school

The effect of a teacher-training workshop in a medical school was studied. The change in instructional behavior was judged by the amount and kind of students' verbal activities during regular lessons and by the cognitive level of the teacher-student encounters. One hundred and sixty-one lessons of 60 teachers were observed in a period up to 500 days after the four-day workshop. The results indicate a considerable increase in both parameters following the training. The new level of performance was sustained for the activity parameter along the entire follow-up period. The cognitive level moderately declined after about 200 days. After 500 days the instructional behavior still was significantly different from that before the workshop. The implications for teacher-training and reinforcement interventions are discussed.