Adult patient education is a major responsibility of registered dietitians. It is essential for registered dietitians to be effective adult educators as they teach adults in various employment settings. Review of the literature revealed that one important factor in being an effective adult educator is developing a teaching style which facilitates learning, known as learner-centered teaching style.The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the teaching style preference and identify factors that have influenced registered dietitians' teaching style preference.The study sample of six hundred registered dietitians residing in the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin) were sent two tools to complete, the "Principles of Adult Learning Scale (PALS)". Two hundred and fifty-two respondents completed the questionnaire and PALS, designed by Conti to determine teaching style preference.The overall PALS scores were computer generated. Frequency distributions and populations percentages were calculated for demographic and descriptive data. The mean, median, and standard deviation of PALS scores were calculated. Analysis of various factors and the PALS scores.The findings suggest that registered dietitians' teaching style preference is teacher-centered. The years of employment positively affected teaching style toward learnercentered until the dietitian had been employed more than 16 years, then the years of employment negatively affected teaching style preference. The number of formal educational sessions relating to adult education had the most positive effect on teaching style preference. The number of continuing education session related to adult education proved to be the factor that most affected teaching style preferences.The study has implications for registered dietitians regarding dietetic education and curriculum development, continuing professional education and adult educators utilizing the PALS instrument. Further study is recommended using PALS with only entry-level dietitians and comparing PALS scores with actual classroom teaching behavior. / Department of Educational Leadership

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