Improving teaching on the basis of student evaluation: Integrative teaching consultation

Objective: Due to the development of medical education in the past decade the role of teachers has changed and requires higher didactic competence. Student evaluation of teaching alone does not lead to considerable improvement of teaching quality. We present the concept of "Integrative Teaching Consultation", which comprises both the teacher’s reflection and own objectives to improve their teaching as well as data from students ratings. Methods: Teachers in collaboration with a teaching consultant reflect on their teaching ability and set themselves improvement goals. Then the consultant himself observes a teaching session and subsequently analyses the respective student evaluation in order to give meaningful feedback to the teacher. Results: The combination of student feedback with professional consultation elements can initiate and maintain improvements in teaching. Conclusion: Teaching consultation complements existing faculty development programs and increases the benefit of student evaluations.