Bolstering medical education: Development and validation of a questionnaire for comparative study of heutagogical and andragogical teaching approaches in 1^st-year medical students

Objectives: Medical education is evolving with the integration of newer approaches alongside traditional pedagogical methods based on didactic lectures. New learner-centred strategies foster a dynamic learning environment and enhance critical thinking amongst students. This study explores the impact of heutagogical teaching strategies compared to andragogical teaching–learning (TL) methods, specifically assessing their effectiveness in improving achievement motivation and academic confidence amongst 1 st -year MBBS students. Materials and Methods: The study employed a two-phase design: First, developing and validating a teaching learning questionnaire (TLQ) to assess and compare students’ perceptions of andragogical and heutagogical teaching methods, and second, assessing learning outcomes using TLQ. About 99 1 st -year MBBS students completed the TL questionnaire using a Likert scale. Teaching sessions were conducted on ‘Exercise Physiology’ using an andragogical approach and ‘Autonomic Nervous System’ using a heutagogical approach. Post-test assessments and student feedback from each session were analysed to determine the effectiveness of both methods. Results: In the first phase of the study, a 13-item TL questionnaire was developed after validation following standard procedures. It showed strong content validity (content validity index = 0.97 and content validity ratio = 0.88) and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.97 and intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.96). Factor analysis indicated two factors in the TLQ, accounting for 71.79% of the variance, with most items showing strong factor loadings. In the second phase, 1 st -year MBBS students expressed a preference for heutagogical teaching, with 76% favouring it over traditional methods and 98% reporting higher satisfaction with this approach. Students reported increased motivation, problem-solving skills, creativity, and confidence with the heutagogical style. Conclusion: This study highlights the significance of both heutagogical and andragogical TL methods in medical education to foster a dynamic and effective learning environment. The validated TLQ provides a reliable tool for evaluating teaching strategies across medical disciplines. This study also underscores the potential of heutagogical learning in developing achievement motivation and confidence amongst medical students. Further research with larger sample sizes is recommended to confirm these findings and assess the broader applicability of both TL strategies.