Student Preference on Teaching Mode and the Impact of Remote Teaching on Academic Performance in Undergraduate Orthodontics Course, a Follow-Up Study.

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this interventional mixed-methods study was to evaluate predoctoral dental students' preferences for different teaching modalities, examine the impact of remote teaching on academic performance, and assess students' well-being.

Methods: We implemented a blended teaching approach for the 19 theoretical lectures of an orthodontics course, combining remote delivery for half of the lectures with in-class sessions for the other half. In total, 51 students participated in the course. To assess learning outcome, the results of a summative course examination comprising 38 multiple-choice questions were analyzed, and performance on questions related to remotely delivered lecture topics were compared with topics presented through in-class lectures. The students' preferences were assessed with a feedback questionnaire and their burnout level with the School Burnout Inventory (SBI-9). The correlation between teaching method of each topic and the corresponding examination results were investigated to identify for a possible association.

Results: We found that online lectures yielded equally good overall learning outcomes as in-class lectures. Majority of the students favored the blended teaching approach as they considered that inclusion of remote teaching alleviated their study load and increased well-being. The students exhibited levels of exhaustion from schoolwork and feelings of inadequacy that were above the SBI-9 scale average, whereas cynicism toward the value of studies was found to be below the scale average.

Conclusions: A blended teaching approach is effective in theoretical orthodontics and preferred by undergraduate students. This study provides insight for educators to enhance educational outcome and student's well-being.