Student-led seminars as an enforcement-learning method for human anatomy – Dentistry students' perspectives

Abstract

Background: The “student led seminar (SLS)” is one in which students prepare and present selected topics through multi-source research with the assistance and guidance of the faculty. Teamwork is increasingly emphasized in health care, and team training is now considered to be essential in medical education. Small group learning promotes active learning and develops communication and teamwork skills. It also improves problem-solving skills, attitudes, and the development of interpersonal skills. Aim of the Study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of SLSs as a teaching-learning method for Bachelor of Dental Surgery undergraduates through students' perception. Methodology: This was a prospective, observational study conducted for 5 months among 1st year dentistry students. The students were divided in small groups and the topics for the seminar were allocated for presentation according to the roster. Each group was given 20 min for presentation, 10 min for question time and discussion. A hard copy of the slides presented was also collected. Feedback was taken on pretested questionnaire containing 11 Likert-based items on a five-point scale. Descriptive statistics were applied for each item question. Cronbach's alpha test was applied to check the internal validity of the questionnaire. Satisfaction rate and index were calculated. Fischer's exact test was applied to find the odds ratio of satisfaction rate between male verses female students and hosteller verses day scholar students for each item question separately. Student's t-test was applied to determine the difference in the performance of students in the first and second internal assessments at P = 0.05 significance level. Results: Among the participants, 32 were female (mean age 19 ± 1.46) and 18 were male (mean age 20 ± 1.82) students. Ninety-five percent of students agreed that the seminars improved their self-confidence and enhanced their presentation skills, helped them acquire a deeper understanding of the topic, an opportunity to use resources (time, electronic gadgets, and media) responsibly, even outside the bounds of the lecture theatre. Overall, mean score on Likert scale was 3.9 ± 0.307. The satisfaction rate and index were the highest for question 3. The second term examination result showed statistically significant improvement over that of the 1st term. Conclusions: The student seminar is a potentially important resource of the teaching-learning method that has yet to be fully implemented and therefore needs to be incorporated into the medical curriculum on a regular basis.