Student′s attitudes toward effective factors in lecturing didactic dental courses

Abstract

Introduction: Effective communication between educators and students is essential in the learning process. Knowledge of student attitudes toward effective teaching methodologies can be used for future development of dental faculty. The purpose of this study was to investigate dental student attitudes toward effective factors affecting quality of well-delivered didactic dental courses in classrooms. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed between 130 dental students at clinical stage (4-6 years) in academic year 2012-2013 in Babol University of Medical Sciences. The questionnaires were consisted of 36 items and further categorized into four dimensions: (1) Educators, (2) Academic Administration, (3) Course content and (4) Classrooms physical environment. After confirmation of content validity and reliability, they were filled by students. Students ′agreement with each item in the questionnaire was measured using 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics of the data and statistical analysis, t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient, were used. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Ninety-eight students responded with response rate of 75 percent. Oral presentation skills and integrated logical order of content in relation to educators, early detailed course plan and visual aids such as instructional videos in relation to course content, were the most important factors recognized by student to influence quality of didactic dental course presentations in the classrooms. Future dental faculty development requires investments, trainings, and support. Conclusion: Dental educators should analyze predominant learning styles of students and change dental curriculum in a way to provide an optimal learning experience.