Which pedagogical principles should clinical teachers know? Teachers and education experts disagree. Disagreement on important pedagogical principles.

Background: In a previous study, a group of non-clinician medical education experts identified 30 pedagogical principles, knowledge of which might enhance clinical teaching effectiveness.

Aims: To assess expert teachers? perceptions of which basic pedagogical principles, if known and understood, would enhance their teaching effectiveness.

Method: We conducted an on-line Delphi consensus-building study with 25 expert clinical teachers who rated the importance to teaching effectiveness of each of the 30 principles.

Results: There was agreement between clinicians and PhD education experts on the importance of several of the principles but there was major disagreement between the 2 groups for many principles, including those related to assessment and those relevant to clinical teachers? day to day teaching activities.

Conclusions: The lack of concordance between clinical teachers and education experts with respect to how the 30 principles rank in importance may have serious implications for faculty development and for the design, development, and assessment of educational programs. Program directors and curriculum designers should exploit the strengths of both clinician and non-clinician educators to assure the success of educational programs.