Reliability of rubrics in the assessment of orthodontic oral presentation

Aims

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of using rubrics in dental education, specifically for undergraduate students’ assessment in orthodontic oral presentation.

Student perceptions of an online dental terminology course

Online learning is becoming a recognized method for delivering educational content throughout institutions of higher education. Few studies have been performed regarding online learning in dentistry or dental hygiene. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to describe and analyze the experiences of thirteen students enrolled in an online dental terminology course to determine their satisfaction level. The overall perceptions of online learning were positive, and although some frustrations were apparent, the majority of students stated that they learned a great deal, found the course valuable, and were now familiar with the terminology. Students commented on the convenience of taking the course at a time that fit their schedule and a place that they did not have to commute to attend. Technical issues and student isolation seemed to be the primary drawbacks to online learning. Some students missed the interaction that exists in a regular classroom. Students strongly suggested that, to be successful in online education, one had to be a self-directed learner. In addition, visual learners were more apt than audio learners to appreciate online learning. The results of this study suggest that online learning was a valuable method for teaching dental terminology and is particularly beneficial for students with no other alternative methods for gaining access to the courses due to geographical location. Where appropriate, online courses should be considered an option for providing distance education in dental hygiene programs.     

Evaluation of a blog used in a dental terminology course for first-year dental students

This article reports the findings of a study conducted to evaluate a blog used in a dental terminology course. The blog was established using free online software to provide more learning exercises for students and to collect feedback about course proceedings. The instructor posted exercises such as multiple choice and true/false questions and invited students to publish answers. Students were also encouraged to post comments about difficult parts of the course that needed clarification. Students contributed 149 comments, mostly as answers in response to thirteen posts of exercises over three months. All users of the blog who responded to a questionnaire considered it useful, and most of them expressed the opinion that blogs should be used in other courses. The main reason that students reported for not using the blog was lack of time. Statistically significant differences in examination performance existed between students who used the blog and those who did not. Based on these findings, the blog achieved its purposes, which were to enhance instructor communication with students and provide students with practice exercises to improve their understanding of dental terminology. Further research about the application of blogging and its potential to enhance dental education is needed.     

Pharmacology national board examinations: factors that may influence performance.

Data from a survey of pharmacology courses in 60 dental schools were used to determine whether certain teaching variables affect performance in pharmacology National Board examinations. In addition, three-year class-averaged pharmacology scores and, rarely, one-year averaged scores were correlated with several admissions variables. While correlations between some admissions variables and pharmacology scores were quite good, the averaged pharmacology scores were not powerfully affected by course length, placement of the course in the curriculum, length of the curriculum, or the presence of a dentally trained pharmacologist in the department. It is suggested that other factors, related to the student and his capabilities, influence performance on National Boards. Dental pharmacology courses should be designed to given students the best possible exposure to an important basic science, not to make them perform well on National Boards, because student performance on National Boards may be independent of the nature of the didactic courses.     

Evaluating a blended-learning course taught to different groups of learners in a dental school

The purpose of this study was to present and evaluate a blended-learning course developed for undergraduate (B.D.S.), postgraduate, and diploma (hygiene and therapy) students at the University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry. Blended learning is the integration of classroom face-to-face learning with online learning. The overall methodology used for this study was action research. The data were collected using three processes: questionnaires to collect contextual data from the students taking the course; a student-led, nominal group technique to collect group data from the participants; and a non-participant observer technique to record the context in which certain group and individual behaviors occurred. The online component of the course was accepted as a valuable resource by 65 percent of those responding. While online information-sharing occurred (31 percent of the students posted in forums), there was no evidence of online collaboration, with only 8 percent replying to forum postings. Accessibility of the online environment was one of the main concerns of the students at the nominal group sessions. Differences regarding overall engagement with the course between the student groups (years) were observed during the sessions. The majority of the students were satisfied with the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) course. No statistically significant differences between males and females were found, but there were differences between different student cohorts (year groups).     

A case-based and team-based learning model in oral and maxillofacial radiology

The purpose of this article is to describe the process of transitioning a traditional face-to-face oral and maxillofacial radiology (OMR) lecture course to a case-based, team-based learning model for students ready to enter their fourth and final year of dental school. Data were collected from 294 new fourth-year students (Classes of 2009, 2010, and 2011) who participated in the newly formatted OMR course. At the time the course was taken, students had completed one year of clinical experience in taking and evaluating radiographic images on patients with various clinical conditions. Each class of approximately 100 students was divided into ten teams of ten each, and a topic on oral and maxillofacial lesions was assigned to each team. The teams researched their assigned topics, created PowerPoint presentations, and posted them on the course management system Blackboard site. The instructor posted on Blackboard eight to ten cases representing various lesions on that topic. Minimal clinical history was released at that point. Students reviewed the teams' PowerPoint presentations and the cases, answered the questions for each case, and turned in written assignments to be graded. The diagnoses were discussed in class. An end-of-course survey found that 71 percent of the students felt the case-based instruction helped them learn the content in a more comprehensive manner and 77 percent felt the in-class discussion increased their knowledge of radiographic interpretation. Some students said they felt uncomfortable being called on randomly during the class discussion. National Board Dental Examination results for the classes of 2009 and 2010 showed slight improvement when compared to national scores. As a result of student feedback, the course continues to be offered in the case-based, team-based format.     

Developing and providing an online (web-based) clinical research design course in Japan: lessons learned

This article reports on the lessons learned while teaching an 8-week-long online course about the principles of clinical research design in Japan. Student activity data and how it relates to performance in the course are presented. As prolog, this article focuses on the barriers and solutions to creating and delivering a web-based course and it lists and discusses the most common concerns that educators often have about this process, namely, cost of the system and time requirement of the faculty. Options that must be considered when selecting the support software and hardware needed to conduct live streaming lecture, online video-based conference course are presented. The ancillary role of e-mail based distribution lists as an essential instruction tool within an interactive, instructor-supervised online course is discussed. This article then discusses the inclusion of active learning elements within an online course as well as the pros and cons regarding open-book versus closed book, proctored testing. Lastly, copyright issues the online instructor should know about are discussed. The student tracking data show that as the course progresses, students will reduce the number for page viewings. We speculate that this reduction is due to a combination of conflicting priorities plus increasing efficiency of the students at extracting the critical information. The article also concludes that software and hardware costs to deliver an online course are relatively minor but the faculty's time requirement is initially substantially higher than teaching in a conventional face-to-face course.     

Evaluation of social interaction, task management, and trust among dental hygiene students in a collaborative learning environment

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of collaborative learning on the development of social interaction, task management, and trust in dental hygiene students. These three traits were assessed with the Teamwork Assessment Scale in two different learning environments (traditional lecture/lab and collaborative learning environment). A convenience sample of fifty-six entry-level dental hygiene students taking an introductory/preclinic course at two metropolitan area dental hygiene programs provided comparable experimental and control groups. Factor scores were computed for the three traits, and comparisons were conducted using the Ryan-Einot-Gabriel-Welsh multiple comparison procedure among specific cell comparisons generated from a two-factor repeated measures ANOVA. The results indicate that the collaborative learning environment influenced dental hygiene students positively regarding the traits of social interaction, task management, and trust. However, comparing dental hygiene students to undergraduate students overall indicates that dental hygiene students already possess somewhat higher levels of these traits. Future studies on active learning strategies should examine factors such as student achievement and explore other possible active learning methodologies.     

A blended learning course taught to different groups of learners in a dental school: follow-up evaluation

This article reports the results of a follow-up study conducted to investigate students' perceptions about a blended learning health informatics course that combined online and traditional classroom instruction. The course is taught to five different groups of students at the School of Clinical Dentistry of the University of Sheffield each academic year: first-, third-, and fourth-year dental students, dental hygiene and therapy students, and postgraduate dental students. The goal of the study was to determine the impact of the modifications made to the course after the first year of implementation. To accomplish this goal, students' perceptions of this blended learning course were compared after the first and second implementations. The methodology used for this study was action research. The data were collected using three processes: questionnaires were used to collect contextual data from the students taking the course; a student-led, nominal group technique was used to collect group data from the participants; and a non-participant observer technique was used to record the context in which certain group and individual behaviors occurred. Depending on group assignment, between 41.5 and 91.5 percent of students believed that the blended-learning course had added to their skills. The online learning environment was perceived as a useful resource by 75 percent of students in four of the five student groups, but only 45 percent of the fourth-year dental students indicated it was a useful resource. The perceived lack of sufficient online support material was one of the main concerns of the students at the nominal group evaluation sessions. The non-participant observer technique identified different engagement levels among the student groups. Discernible differences were identified, with improvement in some areas and a decline in others compared to a previous evaluation. The change in the delivery method influenced the students' comprehension of the material negatively and the learning environment positively, but did not influence online collaboration among students.     

Students' perceptions of effective learning experiences in dental school: a qualitative study using a critical incident technique

Students' views of their educational experience can be an important source of information for curriculum assessment. Although quantitative methods, particularly surveys, are frequently used to gather such data, fewer studies have employed qualitative methods to examine students' dental education experiences. The purpose of this study is to explore characteristics of effective learning experiences in dental school using a qualitative method. All third-year (seventy) and fourth-year (seventy) dental students enrolled in one midwestern dental school were invited to participate. Fifty-three dental students (thirty-five male and eighteen female; thirty-two third-year and twenty-one fourth-year) were interviewed using a critical incident interview technique. Each student was asked to describe a specific, particularly effective learning incident that he or she had experienced in dental school and a specific, particularly ineffective learning incident, for comparison. Each interview was audiotaped. Students were assured that only the interviewer and one additional researcher would have access to the tapes. Data analysis resulted in identification of key themes in the data describing characteristics of effective learning experiences. The following characteristics of effective learning experiences were identified: 1) instructor characteristics (personal qualities, "checking-in" with students, and an interactive style); 2) characteristics of the learning process (focus on the "big picture," modeling and demonstrations, opportunities to apply new knowledge, high-quality feedback, focus, specificity and relevance, and peer interactions); and 3) learning environment (culture of the learning environment, technology). Common themes emerged across a wide variety of learning incidents. Although additional research is needed, the characteristics of effective learning experiences identified in this study may have implications for individual course design and for the dental school curriculum as a whole.     

Web-based continuing dental education in California

This article asks and answers a series of questions about Web-based continuing education for dentists. A summary of these answers are: (1) all indicators point to a substantive increase in the number and types of continuing education courses in the next five years; (2) the main reasons to take an online dental C.E. course are that it is available at any time from any location that has an Internet connection and the total cost per unit will be substantially lower compared to traditional C.E. courses; (3) the best type of online C.E. course would be one that has an identified experienced expert instructor, provides a case-based or problem-based approach, and provides an interactivity opportunity between the instructor and student via chat room or e-mail; and (4) online continuing dental education is simply one of many methods that can be used by dental practitioners and will not replace other continuing education methods but rather supplement them. In summary, as more and more online dental C.E. courses become available, it is hoped they will be designed to be more than a series of slides since this method does not take advantage of the unique features and opportunities provided by the Internet.     

Students'' evaluation of online course materials in Fixed Prosthodontics: a case study

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess a new online course format for dental students. Preclinical Fixed Prosthodontics I is a didactic and laboratory course given in the first year of the dental school curriculum. In the spring semester of 1999, the didactic portion of the course was offered in a web-based format as a supplement to the traditional lecture format. METHODS: The study population was 53 first year dental students at one school. The study design was a one group post test without a control group. The online questionnaire consisted of multiple choice questions, Leikert scale questions and open-ended questions. Data were collected using Filemaker Pro and analyzed using Epilnfo. RESULTS: Student response rate was 96% (52/53). All of the students responded that they felt comfortable with their computer skills in utilizing this course format. Most (96%) responded that the online materials were either very helpful or helpful to them. About half, (54%) recommended that the online format be continued as a supplement to traditional lectures, while 28% recommended replacing traditional lectures with the new format in order to provide more laboratory time in the course. The syllabus, lecture materials, bulletin board and handouts were found to be the most helpful online features. The least helpful features were the listserve, decision tree, and e-mail options. Most frequently mentioned strengths of the online material were listed as 1) the ability to view material at their own pace and at a time convenient to them, 2) quality photographs in lecture materials and 3) online quizzes. Weaknesses of the course were ranked by students as 1) problems with access to the materials and the intranet system, 2) taking quizzes online and 3) difficulty in printing the web-based lecture materials. CONCLUSIONS: The delivery of web-based material as a course supplement in Fixed Prosthodontics I was determined to be an overall success. Fine tuning of problems with access to the materials took place throughout the course. The student feedback will help direct future development of web-based course materials in the dental school curriculum.     

Predoctoral implant dentistry curriculum survey: European dental schools

PURPOSE: In 2002 a survey of European dental schools was conducted. The purpose of the survey was to determine the curricular structure, teaching philosophies and materials used in predoctoral implant dentistry courses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-six European dental schools were randomly selected from the Association for Dental Education in Europe representing 33 countries. A questionnaire was mailed to the predoctoral implant dentistry director/chairperson of the selected European dental schools. Of these, 40 schools returned the completed survey, resulting in a response rate of 71%. The mean, median and range of responses were computed where applicable. RESULTS: The results from this survey show that 80% of the responding schools required a course in implant dentistry. Between 1997 and 1999 over a third of responding schools (36%) incorporated a predoctoral implant dentistry course into their curriculum. Eighty-seven per cent of the schools have some prosthodontists teaching the course. Thirty-seven per cent of schools are offering a laboratory course in conjunction with the implant course. Sixty-three per cent of the schools are not restoring implant cases at the predoctoral level. However, 68% of schools reported students are required to be present during implant surgery. Ten per cent of schools require that the implant-related laboratory work be completed by the students. CONCLUSIONS: Predoctoral implant dentistry educational programmes vary from school to school. Yet a large percentage of schools agree on certain topics, including the importance of including implant education in predoctoral dental programmes.     

A virtual reality dental simulator predicts performance in an operative dentistry manikin course

This study was designed to test the ability of a virtual reality dental simulator to predict the performance of students in a traditional operative dentistry manikin course. Twenty-six dental students were pre-tested on the simulator, prior to the course. They were briefly instructed and asked to prepare 12 class I cavities which were automatically graded by the simulator. The instructors in the manikin course that followed were unaware of the students' performances in the simulator pre-test. The scores achieved by each student in the last six simulator cavities were compared to their final comprehensive grades in the manikin course. Class standing of the students in the simulator pre-test positively correlated with their achievements in the manikin course with a correlation coefficient of 0.49 (P = 0.012). Eighty-nine percent of the students in the lower third of the class in the pre-test remained in the low performing half of the class in the manikin course. These results indicate that testing students in a dental simulator, prior to a manikin course, may be an efficient way to allow early identification of those who are likely to perform poorly. This in turn could enable early allocation of personal tutors to these students in order to improve their chances of success.     

Evaluation of Dental Students as Instructors in Preclinical Prosthodontics and Occlusion Courses

PURPOSE: While facing a shortage of faculty members, dental schools need to be innovative in their educational methodologies. One approach to augment student learning would be to mentor dental students as participating faculty in current courses. A study was undertaken to evaluate dental students as instructors in preclinical prosthodontics and occlusion courses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In spring term 2003, three senior dental students (4DN) and four full-time faculty were assigned as faculty for each of two preclinical courses: fixed prosthodontics and complete denture prosthodontics. In the summer term 2003, two junior dental students (3DN) and five full-time faculty were assigned to teach in the occlusion preclinical course. Each course had previously been conducted with a total of seven full-time faculty. Three types of outcome assessment were accomplished: (1) evaluation by the 2DN students of full-time faculty and student instructors at the end of the course using a standardized university scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); (2) a survey of student instructors about their experience; and (3) a course debriefing with selected 2DN students. RESULTS: The overall mean instructor-quality score assigned to the student instructors, 4.5 (SD, 0.7), was slightly higher than that of faculty instructors, 4.2 (SD, 0.9). Student instructors were rated higher than or equal to full-time faculty based on the mean response scores for all ten evaluation questions. The greatest difference between faculty and student ratings was in the category of "respect and concern for the students" in all courses. In addition, information gathered from eight student instructors indicated that the experience was a very positive one overall with an increased interest in an academic career noted. Comments from the 2DN students in the debriefing sessions were positive about having student instructors. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that from the perspective of second year dental students, senior and junior dental students were accepted as preclinical instructors in prosthodontics and occlusion preclinical courses. Additionally, senior and junior students who participated in student teaching had a positive experience. The use of dental students as preclinical faculty in prosthodontics and occlusion appears to be a viable approach for mentoring students in careers in academics, providing student instructors with higher learning experiences, and supplementing the efforts of full-time faculty.     

Does peer mentoring work? Dental students assess its benefits as an adaptive coping strategy

Dental students deal with various stressors while in dental school. While some develop adaptive coping skills, others may suffer from damaging effects of constant and increasing levels of stress. This study evaluated a peer mentoring program at a dental school in the Midwest to determine student perceptions of its benefits and to identify areas for improvement. Data were collected through a survey sent out to all dental classes online. The twenty-five-item survey was based on student responses during two focus groups held to elicit student assessment of the peer mentoring program. Sixty-six percent of the student body participated with representation from all four classes. Students find their peer mentoring program an effective tool in helping them deal with stress especially during transition phases of their curriculum, first into dental school and later from preclinic to the clinics. Having a mentor means easy access to an available person who can help students relieve anxieties about dental school. Experiencing dental school enables a student to serve as a mentor, so a non-dental student is seen as not effective. Peer mentoring needs to be loosely structured and flexible and should cover all years in the dental curriculum.     

Perceptions of D.M.D. student readiness for basic science courses in the United States: Can online review modules help?

There can be a disconnect between the level of content covered in undergraduate coursework and the expectations of professional‐level faculty of their incoming students. Some basic science faculty members may assume that students have a good knowledge base in the material and neglect to appropriately review, whilst others may spend too much class time reviewing basic material. It was hypothesised that the replacement of introductory didactic physiology lectures with interactive online modules could improve student preparedness prior to lectures. These modules would also allow faculty members to analyse incoming student abilities and save valuable face‐to‐face class time for alternative teaching strategies. Results indicated that the performance levels of incoming U.S. students were poor (57% average on a pre‐test), and students often under‐predicted their abilities (by 13% on average). Faculty expectations varied greatly between the different content areas and did not appear to correlate with the actual student performance. Three review modules were created which produced a statistically significant increase in post‐test scores (46% increase, P < 0.0001, n = 114–115). The positive results of this study suggest a need to incorporate online review units in the basic science dental school courses and revise introductory material tailored to students’ strengths and needs.     

Undergraduate basic science preparation for dental school

In the Institute of Medicines report Dental Education at the Crossroads, it was suggested that dental schools across the country move toward integrated basic science education for dental and medical students in their curricula. To do so, dental school admission requirements and recommendations must be closely reviewed to ensure that students are adequately prepared for this coursework. The purpose of our study was twofold: 1) to identify student dentists' perceptions of their predental preparation as it relates to course content, and 2) to track student dentists' undergraduate basic science course preparation and relate that to DAT performance, basic science course performance in dental school, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. In the first part of the research, a total of ninety student dentists (forty-five from each class) from the entering classes of 1996 and 1997 were asked to respond to a survey. The survey instrument was distributed to each class of students after each completed the largest basic science class given in their second-year curriculum. The survey investigated the area of undergraduate major, a checklist of courses completed in their undergraduate preparation, the relevance of the undergraduate classes to the block basic science courses, and the strength of requiring or recommending the listed undergraduate courses as a part of admission to dental school. Results of the survey, using frequency analysis, indicate that students felt that the following classes should be required, not recommended, for admission to dental school: Microbiology 70 percent, Biochemistry 54.4 percent, Immunology 57.78 percent, Anatomy 50 percent, Physiology 58.89 percent, and Cell Biology 50 percent. The second part of the research involved anonymously tracking undergraduate basic science preparation of the same students with DAT scores, the grade received in a representative large basic science course, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. Using T-test analysis correlations, results indicate that having completed multiple undergraduate basic science courses (as reported by AADSAS BCP hours) did not significantly (p < .05) enhance student performance in any of these parameters. Based on these results, we conclude that student dentists with undergraduate preparation in science and nonscience majors can successfully negotiate the dental school curriculum, even though the students themselves would increase admission requirements to include more basic science courses than commonly required. Basically, the students' recommendations for required undergraduate basic science courses would replicate the standard basic science coursework found in most dental schools: anatomy, histology, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, and immunology plus the universal foundation course of biology.