A Preliminary Investigation on Teaching Styles in Higher Education

Abstract

Several studies show that to the extent that the teacher knows the learning preferences of his students is able to promote quality in the teaching-learning process. However, the teacher must know and identify his own style of teaching. The aim of this study is to verify and analyze the diversity of teaching styles in a Brazilian federal public university, based on a widely known teaching model. The method of investigation used in this theoretical-empirical study is the quantitative, through the application of forms and statistical study of the data obtained, using the tool SPSS Statistics. It was observed that the Styles of Open Education and Functional Education are the most commonly found among the professors at the university analyzed. It can be observed that for a level of significance equal to 5%, the teaching styles do not vary significantly with the gender of the teacher, with his academic formation, with the time of activity in the university, that is, the styles presented independent of these factors. The results are different from those obtained in other studies, confirming that the educational environment, the strategies involved and the content of the subjects affect the teaching styles and what justifies the need for further investigation.