Contemporary issues in clinical dental teaching

Catherine Groenlund, Boris Handal*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Aim: This research project sought to explore the issue of what constitutes effective clinical teaching in the minds of both students and teachers. Background: As stakeholders of the dental clinical setting, teachers and students have valuable practical insights to share with the academic and professional community as to what constitutes effective dental teaching. Case description: An explorative qualitative study of dental teachers' and students' perceptions of clinical teaching was carried out at the Faculty of Dentistry of Sydney University. Thirty-one clinical teachers and 12 students participated in this case study through an online questionnaire survey and a focus group, respectively. Responses were categorized in three major clusters, namely, instructional, curricular or organizational. Conclusion: The findings reveal that both groups hold similar opinions on what constitutes effective clinical instruction including a shared passion for learning and teaching, being clear and organized, demonstrating clinical competencies as well as engaging in professional self-reflection. Most of the issues fell into the instructional cluster where establishing a positive relationship with students including providing constructive feedback at the clinical session came up as key factors contributing to the student experience. Clinical significance: There is a demand from both students and teachers to standardize clinical procedures and protocols as well as having a greater synchronization in time and content between lectures and clinical work.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)501-510
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Contemporary Dental Practice
Volume14
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Clinical instruction
  • Cohort study
  • Curriculum
  • Dental
  • Teaching and learning

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