The Relationship between Communication Skills and Quality of Teaching in University Lecturers from the Viewpoint of Medical Students

Due to the important role of communication in effective classroom management, the current study aimed at examining the relationship between communication skills and quality of teaching among the lecturers of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences from the viewpoint of medical students in 2015.
The current descriptive correlational study was conducted on a total of 1280 medical students of Northern Khorasan University of Medical Sciences; the sample size was calculated by the Morgan table formula and accordingly, 370 subjects were selected using the stratified random method. Data collection tools were the Barton G.A. communication skills and the Suraj teaching quality questionnaires. The validity of the questionnaires was confirmed and their reliability was also assessed by Cronbach’s alpha (the Barton communication skills = 0.859, and the Siraj teaching quality = 0.912). The obtained data were analyzed with SPSS version 20 using Pearson correlation and multivariate regression tests.
The results showed a significant positive relationship between communication skills and quality of teaching in the university lecturers; for instance, by increasing communication skills, the quality of teaching was also increased. The study found a significant direct correlation between verbal and feedback skills- while feedback skills had higher correlation- with quality of teaching. The adverse correlation was also observed between self-presentation and quality of teaching.
There is a significant positive relationship between communication skills and quality of teaching among the university lecturers. Also, feedback-skill is an important factor in increasing the lecturers’ quality of teaching and classroom management.