A Comparison of traditional learning and web-based blended education in a practical oral pathology course for students of dentistry at the Birjand University of Medical Sciences

Background: The practical course of oral pathology is currently presented in classrooms. However, traditional learning does not meet the educational needs of the present age. On the other hand, electronic learning alone has some drawbacks. Blended learning is a combination of traditional and electronic learning. This study aimed to compare the effect of traditional and blended educational methods on learning of practical oral pathology course. Materials and Methods: Present study is a quasi-experimental study done in Birjand university of medical Sciences in 2021 . The study participants consisted of students in fourth year of dentistry course. 34 student were selected randomly. Part of the educational package of the practical oral pathology course 2 was placed as digital images in the Navid system of Birjand University of Medical Sciences.students were divided into two equal groups. The assignment of individuals in two groups was not random and was based on the average of all students. One group studied the material from Navid system before attending the class. Then, both groups received teaching in the classroom. After some time, the blended and traditional methods were evaluated. Evaluation data were entered into statistical software, and the effect of traditional and web-based blended learning on students' learning was compared through t-test. Results: A total number of 34 students taking practical oral pathology course 2 in the first semester of 2020-2021 participated in the study. There were 23 female (67.64%) and 11 male (32.36%) students. The mean age of the participants was 22.42 years. Out of 34 participants under study, 17 students attended in traditional classes (6 males and 11 females). Besides, 17 students attended blended traditional-virtual classes (5 males and 12 females). Learning was evaluated based on the scores obtained in students’ evaluations at a range of 0-6. The traditional group and the blended traditional-virtual groups had mean scores of 3.55 and 4.27, respectively. The mean difference of traditional and blended groups was statistically significant (p=0.015). Conclusion: Web-based education can be used as a complementary educational method alongside traditional education to have a greater impact on students' learning and can even replace traditional education.