Ready to Teach: Examining the Teaching Preparedness of Radiological Physics Instructor

Although radiological physics instructors at radiation therapy schools and programs are experts in content, their training in pedagogy and andragogy is not as extensive. There is no research in the literature about the training of these instructors. This study questioned radiologic physics instructors to determine if there is a difference in teaching preparedness between full-time and adjunct radiological physics instructors at radiation therapy schools and programs in the United States, and if there is a difference in teaching preparedness between radiological physics instructors at four-year colleges and universities and those at two-year colleges and trade schools in the United States offering a radiation therapy technology program. A descriptive comparison methodology was used by sending participants a questionnaire asking about their experience and training. The population is all radiological physics instructors at U.S. schools and programs of radiation therapy technology, who have various ages and ethnic backgrounds but are similar in educational background with graduate degrees in physics. Full-time instructors were found to have significantly higher teaching preparedness than part-time instructors, but there was no difference between the teaching preparedness of instructors at four-year and two-year educational institutions.