2021 Volume 37 Issue 2 Pages 37-45
Abstract Periodontal disease needs to be treated while maintaining occlusal function and esthetics, taking into consideration the patient’s background and preferences. However, it is difficult for dental students in clinical training to make a treatment plan based on only one-way lectures. In order to make dental students aware of the importance of comprehensive oral treatment and to increase their motivation in clinical training, we conducted active learning-type classes incorporating collaborative learning. The purpose of this study was to examine the pedagogical significance of the class.
109 dental students took a periodontal class in early clinical practice, and 5 or 6 students in one group collaborated to make a treatment plan for moderate to severe chronic periodontitis. The students were provided with patient information, intraoral photographs, radiographs and periodontal tissue examination results at the time of the first visit. Student presentations for each group were in a question-and-answer format between faculty and students. After the class, the students answered a questionnaire about the curriculum.
The students’ responses to the questionnaire showed that they felt it was difficult to make a treatment plan, but they actively participated in the group work, and the group work and presentation went smoothly. In addition, more than 90% of students answered that the content of this class was useful for clinical training and future clinical practice, and 85% of the students answered that it would be useful for the national examination.
Active learning classes, in which dental students make periodontal treatment plans, were considered to have deepened dental students’ understanding of the importance of comprehensive periodontal treatment rather than one-way classes and learning to answer multiple-choice questions. Furthermore, it was suggested that this class was meaningful in various situations such as the national dental practitioner’s examination, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate clinical practice.
