Four-component instructional design model and its application on clinical teaching in orthodontics

As an important sub-discipline of dentistry, orthodontics is regarded as the post-graduate education for postgraduates and advanced doctors both at home and abroad. Orthodontics is a professional, practical and systematic discipline, therefore, the conventional education model is hard to get a good result. In this study, a new idea of four-component instructional design model (4C/ID) guided by "integration" was explored in the education of orthodontics, combined with the author's study experience in the University of Pennsylvania. The 4C/ID mainly included four elements: learning tasks, supportive information, procedural information and part-task practice, which emphasized in providing learners a set of real, specific and work-oriented complete learning tasks, so as to replace "partial task learning" to "overall task learning". This study explored the 4C/ID and its application on clinical teaching in orthodontics. Key words: Orthodontics; Four-component instructional design model; Education reform