Global Journal of Health Science; Vol. 10, No. 2; 2018 ISSN 1916-9736 E-ISSN 1916-9744 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 19 Impact of Teaching Strategies on Medical Student Academic Performance María Esther Urrutia-Aguilar 1 , Ruth Selene Fuentes-García 2 , Héctor García Vélez 3 , Edward Beck 4 , Mónica Aburto Arciniega 1 & Rosalinda Guevara-Guzmán 1 1 Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México 2 Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México 3 Facultad de Matemáticas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, México 4 University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA Correspondence: Urrutia Aguilar María Esther, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de 04510, México. Tel: 52-(55)-5553-7004. E-mail: mariau@unam.mx Received: November 9, 2017 Accepted: December 6, 2017 Online Published: December 18, 2017 doi:10.5539/gjhs.v10n2p19 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v10n2p19 Abstract It is well known that teaching strategies used by educators in formal classroom are related to their beliefs, implied theories and practical thinking—strategies we refer to as pedagogical referents. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a correlation between teaching strategies and medical student academic performance. A questionnaire developed to identify these strategies was given to course lecturers who taught a subject with a high student failure rate during the first two years of the career. The results show that there was a correlation between the teaching methods and the students´ academic performance in core subjects. Keywords: teaching strategies, academic development, medical students, learning 1. Introduction In medical education, there is a consistent correlation between the strength of knowledge base acquired during pre-clinical years and the ability to its transition into clinical skills (Hojat, Gonnella, Erdmann, & Veloski, 1997). Curricula in most Mexican universities, particularly at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), are divided into yearly courses. In the School of Medicine, during the first two years, students attend classrooms, laboratories, and community health centers; then, in the following three years, they go to hospitals and ambulatory care centers. For this reason, a solid academic background in basic, clinical, and sociomedical sciences in the first two years is essential to develop clinical competences. The mixed educational model for the Medical Surgeon Curriculum applied at UNAM is structured by core subjects, while focusing on the development of abilities (competencies). As a result, teaching strategies and pedagogical practices that educators use play a significant impact on students´ academic performance, and consequently, the number of students successfully completing their medical training. Since the implementation of the current curriculum, there has been a high failing rate among students, particularly in the biomedical core sciences: Anatomy, Human Embryology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Medical Histology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Immunology and Microbiology and Parasitology (Muñoz-Comonfort, Leenen, & Fortoul, 2014). At a global level, medical colleges and health professional academic institutions are identifying weaknesses in their curricula and collaborating on instructional and institutional innovations to develop a new generation of health professionals (Bhutta et al., 2010). One of the main factors in the teaching-learning process are educators, and for centuries, they have been responsible for training and preparing the new generations of the medical workforce. Despite having the best curriculum, infrastructure, and teaching methods, any academic institution depends mostly on the quality and performance of educators. As a result, course lecturers and professors become one of the most significant variables in medical education. Not only do they provide a knowledge base, but also act as academic counselors, facilitators of learning, creators of educational resources, and a role model of ethical and professional behavior, among other activities and functions (Das, Sabban, & Bener, 1996; Howard, Conway, & Maxwell, 1985; Kremer, 1990; Marsh, 1984; Urrutia et al., 2014; Wilson, 1986).