Quality, Effectiveness and Outcome of Blended Learning in Dental Education during the COVID Pandemic: Prospects of a Post-Pandemic Implementation
Blended learning is growing in popularity particularly following the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. One of the fields that the pandemic has substantially affected is dental education. <b>Purpose</b>: The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the online denta...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Book |
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MDPI AG,
2021-12-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | Blended learning is growing in popularity particularly following the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. One of the fields that the pandemic has substantially affected is dental education. <b>Purpose</b>: The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the online dental education. Students' perceptions and experiences of blended learning were also investigated. <b>Methods</b>: A 28-question online survey was designed to gauge students' perceptions of the effect of blended learning on their academic performance. <b>Results</b>: 314 participants in preclinical and clinical years completed the questionnaire (223 females and 91 males). The majority of students (89%) believed that clinical and practical courses cannot be given by the internet. In terms of students' opinion in the assessment process, more females (65.8%) preferred traditional exams than males (50.5%) (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Most clinical students (83%) preferred a combination of online and traditional teaching compared to 72% of preclinical students (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Clinical year students were more willing to communicate electronically with their classmates and instructors. The majority of dental students (65%) reported that future dental courses should be blended. <b>Conclusions</b>: In the pandemic era, blended learning, should become the preferred method of education whereby theoretical knowledge is delivered through online tutorials and clinical training is resumed on-site, to ensure competency of dental graduates while maintaining safety of the dental team. Current facilities and course designs should be improved in order to improve students' experiences with blended learning. |
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| Item Description: | 10.3390/educsci11120810 2227-7102 |