Impact of test-enhanced learning as a study strategy: An exploratory study with first-year dental students.

PURPOSE: Research has demonstrated that learners who practice self-testing have superior long-term retention compared to those rereading the material alone, a phenomenon called test-enhanced learning. This testing effect can be leveraged by spacing out the testing practice over time, a technique called spaced repetition. In 2017, we provided dental students at the school with access to Osmosis, a web-based platform that supports test-enhanced learning and spaced repetition through flashcards. This exploratory study examined students' adoption of self-testing with flashcards and its impact on learning performance in basic sciences. METHODS: Participants were 143 first-year predoctoral students at a dental school in the US. The platform analytics revealed the number of flashcards students answered throughout the first academic year (2019-2020). Regression analyses examined how self-testing with flashcards impacted students' exam scores in basic sciences. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests examined the difference in students' exam performance among the non, minimal, occasional, and regular flashcard users who answered 0, 1-99, 100-499, and over 500 flashcards, respectively. RESULTS: Students answered 82,766 flashcards during the year. Additionally, they created 17,973 flashcards using the platform's flashcard authoring tool. Regression analyses showed that self-testing with flashcards correlated positively with students' exam performance in anatomy, biochemistry, nutrition, and physiology. ANOVA results revealed a statistically significant difference in students' exam performance in anatomy, biochemistry, and nutrition among the four groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first in dental education to examine students' self-testing on the Osmosis platform. Results revealed that there was widespread adoption of self-testing with flashcards. The study provided additional evidence to support the value of self-testing for dental students. It has practical implications of how test-enhanced learning can be incorporated into dental education to support student learning. The study contributed to the test-enhanced learning literature in dental education, an area that has been underexplored.

Online learning during COVID-19 produced equivalent or better student course performance as compared with pre-pandemic: empirical evidence from a school-wide comparative study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic forced dental schools to close their campuses and move didactic instruction online. The abrupt transition to online learning, however, has raised several issues that have not been resolved. While several studies have investigated dental students' attitude towards online learning during the pandemic, mixed results have been reported. Additionally, little research has been conducted to identify and understand factors, especially pedagogical factors, that impacted students' acceptance of online learning during campus closure. Furthermore, how online learning during the pandemic impacted students' learning performance has not been empirically investigated. In March 2020, the dental school studied here moved didactic instruction online in response to government issued stay-at-home orders. This first-of-its-kind comparative study examined students' perceived effectiveness of online courses during summer quarter 2020, explored pedagogical factors impacting their acceptance of online courses, and empirically evaluated the impact of online learning on students' course performance, during the pandemic. METHOD: The study employed a quasi-experimental design. Participants were 482 pre-doctoral students in a U.S dental school. Students' perceived effectiveness of online courses during the pandemic was assessed with a survey. Students' course grades for online courses during summer quarter 2020 were compared with that of a control group who received face-to-face instruction for the same courses before the pandemic in summer quarter 2019. RESULTS: Survey results revealed that most online courses were well accepted by the students, and 80 % of them wanted to continue with some online instruction post pandemic. Regression analyses revealed that students' perceived engagement with faculty and classmates predicted their perceived effectiveness of the online course. More notably, Chi Square tests demonstrated that in 16 out of the 17 courses compared, the online cohort during summer quarter 2020 was equally or more likely to get an A course grade than the analogous face-to-face cohort during summer quarter 2019. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first empirical study in dental education to demonstrate that online courses during the pandemic could achieve equivalent or better student course performance than the same pre-pandemic in-person courses. The findings fill in gaps in literature and may inform online learning design moving forward.

Changes in the Academe: Women in Dental Education.

More than 150 years ago, Lucy Hobbs became the first woman in the country to enter dental school. Today, women represent nearly half of the nation's entering class, more than a third of the faculty and a growing number of administrative leaders, including deans. Evidence illustrates a developing pipeline toward greater numbers and strength of women in dental education, creating a far-reaching impact on teaching, learning and patient care in academia, practice and the profession.

California's Clinical Dental Team: Evolving Together With an Eye to the Future.

California dentists enjoy some of the most well-trained clinical teams in the country. In these changing times, reflecting on our collective history may help inform collaboration and innovation that will serve us well as we create new ways to care for our patients and thrive in our professional lives.

An overview of case-based and problem-based learning methodologies for dental education.

Dental education has undergone significant curriculum reform in response to the 1995 Institute of Medicine report Dental Education at the Crossroads and the series of white papers from the American Dental Education Association Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI) first published in the Journal of Dental Education and subsequently collected in a volume titled Beyond the Crossroads: Change and Innovation in Dental Education. An important element of this reform has been the introduction into academic dentistry of active learning strategies such as problem-based and case-based learning. As an aide to broadening understanding of these approaches in order to support their expansion in dental education, this article reviews the major characteristics of each approach, situates each in adult learning theory, and discusses the advantages of case-based learning in the development of a multidisciplinary, integrated predoctoral dental curriculum.

Life balance and the busy dental professional.

The busy life of a dental professional demands we strive for a balance of time, energy, and interest to help ensure healthy and fulfilling personal and professional lives. Ideas supporting the commitment and planning necessary to achieving this balance are explored with specific focus related to our stage of practice.

Blinded clinical evaluation of a new manual toothbrush.

OBJECTIVE: A new manual toothbrush with an innovative design has recently been introduced into the marketplace. The purpose of this single-blind, crossover study was to compare plaque removal associated with this new manual toothbrush (Curvex) and a best-selling commercially available manual tootbrush (Oral-B Indicator 40). METHODOLOGY: Over a five-week period, twenty-one subjects participated in this investigation. Following random assignment, ten of the subjects started with the Curvex toothbrush, and the remaining subjects began with the Oral-B Indicator 40 toothbrush. Subjects brushed twice daily for two minutes over a two-week period. After a one-week washout period, the subjects brushed with the alternate toothbrush for two weeks. At the beginning and end of each two-week trial period, subjects were scored before and after brushing using the Turesky modification of the Quigley-Hein Plaque Index (T/Q-H). Findings of reductions in plaque scores were limited to "before vs. after" assessments. Plaque scores were measured in each subject (up to 168 sites) on each of four occasions. RESULTS: The average baseline and test plaque scores for the Oral-B Indicator 40 brush were 2.41 and 1.72; for the Curvex brush these values were 2.34 and 1.69. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no difference between brushes. Paired-comparison t-tests were conducted on each of the 168 evaluated sites, and no patterns of superiority for either brush were identified. Although both toothbrushes effectively reduced mean plaque scores, ANOVA demonstrated no significant difference between toothbrushes. CONCLUSION: The Curvex toothbrush is as effective as the Oral-B Indicator 40 toothbrush in removing plaque. Additionally, there was no evidence of any soft tissue abrasion from either brush.