A nationwide survey of online teaching strategies in dental education in China

Enhancing dental education: integrating online learning in complete denture rehabilitation

This study investigated the integration of online learning into complete denture rehabilitation (CDR) training for dental interns, highlighting its impact on their education and readiness for clinical practice. Given that CDR poses significant challenges due to its technical complexity and profound influence on patient well-being, online learning has emerged as a strategic educational tool to enhance interns' knowledge and skills. This research included the administration of a comprehensive questionnaire to 63 dental interns to assess their backgrounds, experiences with online learning, and attitudes toward its application in CDR education. The results revealed strong engagement with online learning, with a majority valuing its flexibility, accessibility, and capacity to facilitate self-paced, individualized learning. Despite the enthusiasm for online modalities, the results identified notable gaps in interns' confidence in and preparedness for performing CDR, highlighting the need for targeted improvements in online curriculum development. By emphasizing the essential role of innovative teaching methods, including virtual reality (VR), this study underscores the need for a balanced educational approach that combines traditional and digital platforms. This strategy aims to prepare future dental professionals for the complexities of modern clinical environments, ensuring that they are well equipped to meet the diverse needs of the edentulous population.

Is it safe to learn about vital pulp capping from YouTube™ videos? A content and quality analysis

AIM

To evaluate YouTube videos on vital pulp capping (VPC) for content, quality, source, usefulness, and reliability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study assessed 249 English-language videos on vital pulp therapy using the Total Content Score (TCS), Video Information and Quality Index (VIQI), Global Quality Scale (GQS), Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) score and modified DISCERN score. Videos were categorized based on communication quality, duration, likes and dislikes, views, source, and video type. Of the videos analyzed, 22.1% met the inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using Shapiro-Wilk, Kruskal-Wallis, and post hoc Bonferroni tests. Sperman's correlation, Kendal tau tests for correlations, and Fisher's exact test were used to assess associations between categorical variables.

RESULTS

The study identified significant correlations between various parameters. A higher TCS was correlated with increased VIQI (p = 0.005) and GQS scores (r = 0.685, p < 0.05). A moderate positive correlation was found between GQS scores and TCSs (r = 0.577, p < 0.05). VIQI scores were significantly and positively correlated with TCS (r = 0.573, p < 0.05) and comment count (r = 0.306, p < 0.05). JAMA scores were positively correlated with upload time (r = 0.304, p < 0.05), comment count (r = 0.337, p < 0.05), and likes (r = 0.301, p = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

YouTube videos provided low-to-average quality VPC information and tended to be inaccurate. Therefore, public videos may be incorrect, incomplete, and low-quality. Clinicians and patients should seek reliable information from specialists.

Nurse Educator's experiences and challenges with online teaching: A qualitative descriptive study

Introduction

During the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many educational institutions faced the challenge of providing and implementing online education. Despite this challenge, most adopted online education systems to ensure that the teaching and learning process continued. This study aimed to explore nursing educators' experiences related to adopting online-only teaching during the (COVID-19) pandemic, providing nursing students with the best learning experiences, and preparing faculty members to teach online.

Method

This qualitative descriptive study was conducted using semi-structured interviews from June 2020 to September 2020. Using purposive sampling, 12 nursing educators in Saudi Arabia who taught university courses online during COVID-19 were recruited. They were selected based on their teaching experience in undergraduate and postgraduate degree nursing programs.

Results

Thematic analysis revealed an overarching theme-faculty challenges-and three sub-themes-emotional, technical, and educational challenges. Secondary sub-themes comprised four challenges that the nursing faculty faced-using online platforms, accessibility, cheating, and dealing with students' clinical practice-which were found to be interconnected and interrelated.

Discussion

Most nursing educators had to shift to online distance teaching suddenly; thus, they faced several challenges related to online teaching, e-learning literacy, classroom management, and connectivity as they transitioned to digitalization. To address these issues, this study recommends that university management organize training programs for educators to help them more effectively conduct online classes. These findings will be valuable for universities, policymakers, designers, and producers to enhance the implementation of their e-learning systems.

A model for new media data mining and analysis in online English teaching using long short-term memory (LSTM) network

To maintain a harmonious teacher-student relationship and enable educators to gain a more insightful understanding of students' learning progress, this study collects data from learners utilizing the software through a network platform. These data are mainly formed by the user's learning characteristics, combined with the screen lighting time, built-in inertial sensor attitude, signal strength, network strength and other multi-dimensional characteristics to form the learning observation value, so as to analyze the corresponding learning state, so that teachers can carry out targeted teaching improvement. The article introduces an intelligent classification approach for learning time series, leveraging long short-term memory (LSTM) as the foundation of a deep network model. This model intelligently recognizes the learning status of students. The test results demonstrate that the proposed model achieves highly precise time series recognition using relatively straightforward features. This precision, exceeding 95%, is of significant importance for future applications in learning state recognition, aiding teachers in gaining an intelligent grasp of students' learning status.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Virtual Simulation Platform for Apexification Learning

The traditional teaching methods for apexification face difficulties in meeting dental students' practical training needs. Herein, we aimed to find optimal techniques of learning apexification and to evaluate whether a virtual simulation platform for apexification learning was effective. A virtual simulation learning platform for apexification was developed. Ninety-nine 4th-year dentistry students were classified randomly into the control group (Con, receiving conventional teaching) and the experimental group (Exp, receiving virtual simulation teaching). Theoretical tests before (test 1) and after the virtual simulation training (test 2) assessed the effect of learning. In the Exp group, a questionnaire was used to assess student understanding of the virtual simulation platform. In the Exp group, the test-2 scores were significantly better compared those in the Con group (p < 0.001). Furthermore, in the Exp group, the test-2 scores exceeded those of test 1 (p < 0.001). Feedback using the questionnaire covered the evaluation of the Exp group for the virtual reality platform and offered useful suggestions. Applying the virtual simulation learning platform had positive effects on improving learning quality related to apexification.

Global survey of endodontic practice and adoption of newer technologies

AIM

To investigate current endodontic practices, adoption of technologies and continuing education attendance within specialist endodontic practice globally and to identify geographic trends.

METHODOLOGY

A web-based survey of endodontic association members in Australia, Britain, Canada, Italy, New Zealand and the USA on routine treatment preferences, armamentarium and education attendance was conducted. Chi-squared, independent sample t-tests, Cochran's Q test and McNemar's test were performed.

RESULTS

The survey was completed by 543 endodontists or endodontic post-graduate students. Almost all respondents used the dental operating microscope (DOM, 91.3%), engine-driven nickel-titanium instruments (NiTi, 97.6%), electronic apex locators (EAL, 93.0%), cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT, 91.2%) and calcium silicate-based materials (CSBMs, 93.7%). Dental dam was always used by 99.1%. Over half used irrigation adjuncts (81.8%), warm vertical compaction (74.6%) and heat-treated NiTi (60.2%). Geographic comparison between AP (Asia-Pacific, n = 78), AM (Americas, n = 402) and EM (Europe and Middle East, n = 63) was performed. AM and EM preferred single-visit treatment more (p < .001) and used higher sodium hypochlorite concentrations than AP. AM had more access to CBCT in the workplace (86.6%) than AP (65.4%, p < .001) and used CBCT for routine preoperative assessment (39.6%) more than EM (7.3%, p < .001). Almost all of EM used irrigation adjuncts (95.2%), more than AM (78.1%, p = .001). AP used steroid/antibiotic medicaments most (p < .001) and had the highest attendance at continuing education programmes.

CONCLUSION

Several endodontic-specific armamentaria have reached almost complete adoption within global specialist endodontic practice, whilst the continued uptake of newer technologies should be followed over time. Some practising philosophies varied significantly across different geographic regions.

Are we well? A post-pandemic snapshot of dental educator wellness, well-being, and fulfillment

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented changes to oral care and dental education delivery. To date, the vast majority of studies focus on the impact COVID-19 had on the well-being and wellness of patients, practitioners, and students; however, limited literature addresses the pandemic's impact on dental educators.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to investigate the wellness, well-being, and fulfillment of dental educators in the years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Following Institutional Review Board approval, an anonymous electronic Qualtrics survey was emailed to full-time and adjunct faculty across five (5) dental education institutions in the US. Faculty self-reported on their wellness, general well-being, physical well-being, mental well-being, fulfillment, and work-life balance. Group differences were examined using analysis of variance and the Tukey-Kramer test for multiple comparisons at the p < 0.05 level.

RESULTS

The results revealed females and younger dental faculty members reported statistically significantly lower levels of wellness (F2, 123  = 11.16, p < 0.001, F3, 121  = 8.53, p < 0.001), physical (F2, 123  = 11.53, p < 0.001, F3, 121  = 5.54, p = 0.001) and mental well-being (F2, 123  = 12.49, p < 0.001, F3, 121  = 8.63, p < 0.001), fulfillment (F3, 121  = 5.01, p < 0.003), and higher levels of burnout (F2, 123  = 5.53, p = 0.005, F3, 121  = 4.85, p < 0.003). Those who expressed higher levels of burnout also had statistically lower mean well-being scores (F4, 119  = 10.54, p < 0.001). Females also reported a significantly lower work-life balance score compared to male respondents (F2, 121  = 10.37, p < 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Despite the social and environmental challenges faced over the last couple of years post-pandemic, dental educators demonstrate a quick ability to adapt, however, disproportional differences in gender and age groups were identified as being significantly correlated to dental educators' self-reports on wellness, well-being, and fulfillment. Insight into these variables can help inform strategies in the academic setting to help support and strengthen the academic workforce.

Construction and application of dental virtual reality simulation teaching system in China: Necessity and strategies

INTRODUCTION

Following worldwide progress in digital technology, the utilization of advanced technology to update the concept and mode of education has become an important way to improve the quality and scale of talent training. Adoption of virtual reality technology has a positive effect on dental education. Virtual reality technology has been introduced into Chinese dental education nearly 10 years ago, and a holistic teaching system that employs virtual simulation technology to assist instructors in teaching and students in learning has gradually been formed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Based on the work of the West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, we introduced the necessity and advantages of the application of virtual simulation technology in talent training in dentistry and the status of this teaching system.

RESULTS

A virtual dental simulation teaching system was constructed and applied in China. Virtual reality technology was incorporated into the four elements of the teaching system. This reformed system carried out educational informatization in terms of the construction of a virtual simulation teaching platform, development of virtual simulation teaching resources, improvement of the student training model, and upgrading of teaching management.

CONCLUSION

The holistic teaching system implemented at the West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, highlights the successful incorporation of virtual reality technology into various aspects of dental education. The construction of this system reflects the deep integration of modern information technology and dental education, with the aim of helping dental educators promote teaching methods and management model in the future.

Current endodontic practice and use of newer technologies in Australia and New Zealand

BACKGROUND

This study investigated endodontic clinical preferences, adoption of newer technologies and information sources among dentists and endodontists.

METHODS

Dental and endodontic society members in Australia and New Zealand were surveyed online regarding their endodontic treatment preferences, armamentarium, information sources and continuing professional education (CPE) attendance.

RESULTS

Complete responses were received from 71 endodontic specialists or postgraduates (Group E) and 139 general dentists (Group D). Most of Group E used dental operating microscopes (95.8%), endodontic cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT; 98.6%) and calcium silicate-based materials (CSBMs; 97.2%), significantly more (P < 0.001) than Group D (86.3% used loupes, <32% used CBCT for endodontics or CSBMs). Most respondents used dental dam always for endodontics (94.3%), electronic apex locators (EAL; 81.0%) and engine-driven nickel-titanium (NiTi) instruments (91.4%); Group E had more experience with engine-driven NiTi (P < 0.001). Endodontic CPE attendance was highest at dental association programs (P < 0.001) while hands-on NiTi training attendance was highest via commercial companies (P < 0.05). Online information sources were commonly used (38.8% of Group D, 59.2% of Group E).

CONCLUSION

Dental dam, EAL and engine-driven NiTi were almost universally used. The endodontic group reported high adoption of newer endodontic technologies. Endodontic CPE and information sources should be further surveyed as online engagement evolves. © 2023 Australian Dental Association.

Dental education profile in COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

INTRODUCTION

This scoping review aimed to determine the frequency of different teaching methodologies, tools and platforms applied in dental education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The search strategy was performed in six databases and grey literature. A total of 28 questionnaire-based studies were included, without language or time restriction, from 20 different countries.

RESULTS

Six thousand five hundred sixty-five participants were assessed: 84% undergraduates, 9% of faculty members, 5% of postgraduate students/residents/trainees and 2% of dental schools/residency programs. The pooled eligible data for teaching methodologies were 62% of a combination of different methods (95% CI, 35.5% to 82.3%), 23% a combination of synchronous and asynchronous formats (95% CI, 8.2% to 50.2%) and 15% for only synchronous lectures (95% CI, 4.3% to 42.2%). The reported tools were laptops (40%), smartphones (40%), tablets (40%), desktops (20%), Blackboard (20%), Respondus Lockdown Browser (20%), eProctor (20%) and PowerPoint (20%). The most used platforms were Zoom (70.6%), Microsoft Teams (23.5%) and Cisco Webex (23.5%). A better time management (17.9%; 95% CI, 7.9% to 35.6%) and the possibility of revision with additional notes (14.3%; 95% CI, 5.7% to 31.5%) was the greatest advantages related to dental e-learning, while the increased levels of anxiety/stress/burnout/exhaustion (35.7%; 95% CI, 21% to 54.2%) and internet connection problems (35.7%; 95% CI, 21% to 54.2%) was the most cited disadvantages.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review showed promising blended teaching methodologies, tools and platforms in the dental education profile. The evidence suggests that e-learning technologies can widely contribute to dental education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study makes a major contribution to research by assessing the impact of COVID restrictions on dental education and further studies are needed to identify how restrictions in dental practice will affect future professionals.

Evaluation of Moroccan medical students' experience of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has become the main method of instruction. This study aimed to evaluate Moroccan medical students' perceptions of medical online learning experience and to list its probable related advantages and barriers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study on 400 medical students randomly selected from the different national medical institutions was conducted. A questionnaire evaluating the online learning experience during the pandemic was distributed via institutional e-mails. Statistical analyses were carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

RESULTS

51.2% of students were satisfied with the online learning experience and reported several benefits including no need to travel (35.8%), cost savings (20.7%), and flexibility of home studying (32.3%). Technical issues related to the use of platforms or internet connection, limited interaction between students and their instructors, and lack of motivation were the major barriers to online learning. Moreover, results also showed a significant difference when comparing the attendance frequency between presential classes and online learning (i.e., before vs. during the COVID-19 pandemic) (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The experience of medical online learning was reported in our study to be associated to several advantages and disadvantages. Hence, students' perceptions should be considered to evaluate and improve the quality of this instructional method for a successful and more active approaches implementation.

Well-being variations on students of health sciences related to their learning opportunities, resources, and daily activities in an online and on-crisis context: a survey-based study

BACKGROUND

Universities' training process intensely relies on face-to-face education. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted it and forced them to reinvent their process online. But this crisis seems not to be the last we will face, and we take it as a lesson to prepare for future crises. These critical contexts are especially challenging because they imply changing teaching strategies, and students may not have the technology access or the living conditions to connect as they need. They also lived through a pandemic where the virus and the life changes added stress to their learning process and threatened their well-being. So, this study aims to analyze how well-being variations reported by Health sciences students relate to their learning opportunities, access conditions, and daily activities.

METHOD

We surveyed 910 Health sciences students from six different Chilean universities at the end of the first semester of 2020, the first in pandemic conditions. Respondents answered online questionnaires about 1) Remote teaching activities, 2) Learning resources availability, 3) Daily life activities, and 4) Well-being changes. We performed descriptive analysis and Structural Equation Modelling.

RESULTS

Live videoconference classes were the most frequent teaching activity; only a third of the students had quiet spaces to study online, and most had to housekeep daily. More than two third reported some well-being deterioration. The structural equation model showed a good fit.

CONCLUSION

Results show an online learning scenario that tries to emulate traditional learning focusing on expositive strategies. Most students reported that their well-being deteriorated during the semester, but tutorials, workplace availability, and social support were protective factors.

From text to e-text: perceptions of medical, dental and allied students about e-learning

Objective

More than a year ago, Pakistan like the rest of the word, was hit by a global pandemic, due to which students of higher education had to accept the new era and adapt to the electronic learning environment for the very first time. This study aims to analyze the perceptions of medical, dental, and allied health students about e-learning in Pakistan.

Methods

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted throughout the country. A pre-validated, anonymous online questionnaire regarding demographics, past-experience of e-learning, advantages disadvantages of e-learning, and general perception of students towards e-learning was distributed. Descriptive statistics were computed for all demographics. Chi-square test was used to compare the differences of perceptions between pre-clinical year and clinical years students. Chi-square was used to compare overall category-wise positive and negative responses of students. The association between participant demographics and their perception towards e-learning was also calculated using chi square.

Results

A total of 1200 students participated in the study of which 797 (66.4%) were from pre-clinical years and 403 (33.6%) were from clinical years. The major advantage identified by all students was the 'comfortable environment' (70%) and 'technical problems with IT equipment' was listed as the biggest disadvantage (89%) of e-learning. For preclinical year students, 'anxiety due to social isolation' was selected as the biggest issue (p < 0.05) whereas, for clinical year students, it was 'lack of patient interaction' (p < 0.05). Overall, 72% of students had a negative perception of e-learning.

Conclusion

After more than a year of online studying, medical and allied students of Pakistan have expressed dissatisfaction towards e-learning. Student-teacher training, student counselling sessions, and innovative techniques need to be introduced to enhance student engagement and reduce pandemic stress.

Education during the COVID-19 pandemic: the perception of Italian dental and medical students

BACKGROUND

During COVID-19 pandemic many dental and medical students continued their education from home. From several studies it emerges that students prefer face-to-face teaching, due to the better interaction with teachers, the least number of distractions and due to the negative effect of social isolation on the psychological aspect. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of Italian dentistry and medicine students about teaching and training in this scenario.

METHODS

Two online questionnaires were sent to medical and dental students of all Italian universities to investigate the limits and advantages of distance learning and the experience regarding the internship. A chi-square test was used to assess the association between gender, year of the course and region of residence (P<0.05).

RESULTS

One thousand one hundred thirty-eight students answered the first survey, and 292 the second one. Most students preferred face-to-face teaching due to the difficult to maintain attention during online lessons. Many students reported that the online internship was not adequate for their education.

CONCLUSIONS

Distance learning disadvantages are the greater number of sources of distraction, low level of interaction, and absence of the relationship with the patient during the practical training. Furthermore, isolation has strongly affected psychosocial balance of the students. The advantages are the greater comfort, the reduction of transport costs, the decrease in pollution, and the possibility of reviewing the lessons. Most Italian students considered appropriate to provide distance learning during the pandemic but believed that the best teaching method was teaching in presence.

Attitude and perceptions regarding online teaching in dental undergraduate program during COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed method study

BACKGROUND

Transformation of education to virtual mode during COVID-19 pandemic was a major challenge for a clinical specialty like dentistry.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A sequential explanatory mixed method was adopted with quantitative dominant design. A self-reported questionnaire on attitude and perceptions toward online learning were distributed among dental undergraduate students. The qualitative arm explored perceptions of online teaching among various stakeholders and thematic content analysis was performed.

RESULTS

A total of 141 responses were obtained, about 21% of them felt online classes to be highly useful and 78% felt it was moderately useful. About 80% of the students were satisfied with the online education. About 40% of participants felt internet connectivity was a frequent issue. The qualitative data analysis revealed five emergent themes of lecture content and delivery, instructional control, resource management, interaction, and evaluation exploring the perceptions of various stakeholders toward online learning and provided several insights.

CONCLUSION

Though online education cannot be compared to traditional education in a clinical specialty like dentistry, it does have its advantages and a portion of student learning can be conducted through this mode.

Sustainable Distance Online Educational Process for Dental Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

In this study, we evaluated the perception of distance online learning in undergraduate dental students in two different European countries during the second lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic to explore sustainable undergraduate educational and examination e-learning forms. Dental students from Dental school of Athens, National and Kapodistrian university of Athens (N1_3rd preclinical year = 131, N2_4th clinical year = 119) and Dental school of Copenhagen (3rd preclinical year N3 = 85) completed the mixed-designed Dental e-Learning process Questionnaire (DeLQ) distributed in a google form. Responses to closed-ended questions were collected on a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were applied, and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to examine student groups. N1 (90% strongly agree) students reported that "e-learning is a suitable education method for theory in dentistry" at a significant level and more often than N2 (43% strongly disagree). N1 and N2 students strongly agreed that they preferred face-to-face teaching rather than distance e-learning. A relatively low number of N1 (31%) students believed that e-learning prepares them sufficiently for their practical training while none of the (0%) N2 cohort agreed. A low percentage of students in both years (N1 = 31%, N2 = 23%) believed that e-learning prepared them for their exams. Additionally, N1 = 60% and N2 = 66% preferred hybrid learning. Only 26% (N1) and 19.5% (N2) desired e-learning to continue after the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly half of the participants believed the online exam model to be unreliable (N1 = 49%, N2 = 43%). Overall, students considered distance e-learning as an educational method applicable only to theoretical lessons. However, the lack of physical communication and interaction in distance learning led students to prefer a blended method. Students of the two faculties seemed to agree on many points, but there were also specific differences attributable to the differences in the programs and educational culture of the two countries.

A systematic review of health sciences students' online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

This study aims to analyse the effectiveness of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic among undergraduate health sciences students using systematic review. Online learning has been chosen as the best approach to continue offering education in this pandemic era.

METHOD

The screening process was done using Scopus, ScienceDirect and PubMed based on the eligibility criteria. Out of 1486 studies, 1269 were screened. A total of 64 eligible studies obtained were included in the quantitative analysis. Results were categorized into i) student attitudes (perceptions/satisfactions/engagements), and ii) student learning outcomes, and compared to the Kirkpatrick model.

RESULTS

Although facing difficulties, 50% of the studies was moderately satisfied with distance learning, while 36% was highly satisfied and 17% dissatisfied. Most studies (26%) reported flexibility in online learning. Internet issues (19%) and low interaction between learners and instructors (19%) were the most prevalent problems mentioned. Online education engages students better than traditional learning. The learning outcome was assessed using two categories: i) academic performance and ii) skill development. Most studies (72%) stated that online learning improves academic performance, 14% reported a drop, and 14% stated no effect, while an increase in clinical skills and communication skills were reported. Kirkpatrick evaluation revealed 80% of the studies obtained was evaluated at level 1 (reaction), 8% at level 2 (learning), 12% at level 3 (behaviour) and none at level 4 (results).

CONCLUSION

Overall, this systematic review found that the online learning performed better than expected during COVID-19, but the data gained is insufficient to say it is beneficial when compared to other types of teaching approaches.

Stress among dental students transitioning from remote learning to clinical training during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A qualitative study

OBJECTIVES

To identify dental students' perceptions of stress over returning to in-person clinical training after remote learning required from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

METHODS

This was a qualitative observational study. The sample was composed of undergraduate students (n = 47) in the final year of São Paulo State University, School of Dentistry, Araraquara program. The data were collected using a questionnaire created in Google Forms. The data was analyzed using the discourse of the collective subject technique.

RESULTS

More than half of the students (63.8%) reported experiencing stress in the transition from remote learning to clinical training. According to the students, the main causes of this stress were fear of COVID-19 infection or contamination (31.5%) and insecurity in their clinical treatment skills after having gone so long without training (25.5%). Half of the students surveyed (51.1%) exhibited at least one stress-related symptom. For most of the students (70.2%), remote learning was insufficient to prepare them for returning to in-person clinical activities. Performing laboratory pre-clinical activities prior to clinical training was the suggestion most frequently cited by the students (25.5%), as a way to avoid some of the stress associated with their return to in-person learning. The main coping strategies adopted by the students upon their return to in-person learning were making the most of their clinical training, planning cases, and studying relevant topics before treating patients (48.9%).

CONCLUSION

The dental students perceived high levels of stress during the transition from remote learning to clinical training.

Experience of Bangladeshi Dental Students towards Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, dental education institutions throughout the world experienced significant challenges, including a quick shift to an online learning paradigm. Since the pandemic has had a considerable impact on dental education, this research evaluated the perspectives and attitudes towards online learning among undergraduate dental students in Bangladesh. Methods: The research was conducted through a cross-sectional method using self-administered online questionnaires. The questionnaire included information on the students’ sociodemographic status, their views, and their attitudes about the changes in the educational system, specifically regarding online learning. The study gathered data from 952 undergraduate students from 14 dental institutions in Bangladesh. Results: The results suggested that 87.5% of all the students were unsatisfied with their online programs. Most of the respondents who expressed dissatisfaction with their online classes were female, did not receive assistance in overcoming barriers to accessing the classes or materials (64.23%), did not have access to the institutional online-learning management system (OLMS) (67.35%), and did not have access to the online course materials (71.43%). The students considered that the shift to online learning failed to provide quality clinical teaching. Conclusions: The lack of an OLMS was found to be linked with dissatisfaction with online learning among Bangladeshi dental students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Additionally, insufficient time allocation and a lack of support through online training were found to be strongly correlated with the students’ discontent. The overall findings highlight the need to develop and implement effective online dentistry educational interventions to promote academic advancement and key practical skills.

Effect of an endodontic e-learning application on students' performance during their first root canal treatment on real patients: a pilot study

BACKGROUND

E-learning has found its way into dental teaching in general and endodontic teaching in particular. The present study aimed to implement a newly developed multimedia learning application and assess its effect on students' first root canal treatment on real patients. With the COVID-19 outbreak, the application's performance was investigated during the pandemic.

METHODS

A total of 138 students in the initial clinical endodontic course participated in this study. The control group (n = 49) followed the traditional curriculum, including practice on artificial teeth and face-to-face teaching events. In addition to the traditional curriculum, test group 1 (n = 54) had access to an endodontic e-learning application containing videos demonstrating artificial teeth and patient cases. With the COVID-19 outbreak, test group 2 (n = 35) had no face-to-face teaching; however, endodontic patient treatments were included. The quality of students' first root canal treatment on real patients was compared using performance and radiographic assessment items. Statistical analysis was done using Kruskal-Wallis and chi-squared tests. Test groups received a questionnaire to assess the learning application. Test group 2 also completed a COVID-19-specific survey to measure students' perceptions of how the pandemic affected their endodontic education.

RESULTS

The results of endodontic treatments were significantly better for test group 1 (P < 0.001) and 2 (P < 0.001) than for the control group. Likewise, there were significantly fewer treatment errors in test group 1 (P < 0.001) and 2 (P < 0.001). No significant differences were found between test groups 1 and 2. Students of the test groups positively evaluated the e-learning application. Students of test group 2 expressed their fear of negative impacts on their course performance.

CONCLUSION

The e-learning application was well-received and seemed to improve endodontic education. The results imply that the quality of education may be maintained by implementing e-learning to compensate for face-to-face teaching. As no difference was found between online and face-to-face teaching, students' and lecturers' concerns that endodontic education is suffering because of the pandemic may be eased.

Application of online learning combined with case-based discussion in oral medicine education

BACKGROUND

During the past decades, the rapid development of modern teaching tools and methods has been observed, and the new teaching module constructed through digitization or networking has been widely used in the field of medical education. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of the online learning combined with case-based discussion (CBD) approach in oral medicine education.

METHODS

Sixty senior students majoring in stomatology were randomly divided into two groups. One group (new module-based teaching group [NG], n = 30) watched an online teaching video and discussed clinical cases in groups. The control group (traditional lecture-based group [TG], n = 30) was assigned to the traditional lecture-based teaching. Subsequently, a theory assessment was conducted on the topics taught, and the scores of both groups were compared. Feedback about this teaching model was obtained from the NG.

RESULTS

The results showed that students in the NG had significantly better performance in terms of mastering professional knowledge than did students in the TG. Moreover, most students in the NG had a high degree of satisfaction with this new teaching method, as they agreed that it can mobilize their learning enthusiasm and promote their engagement, interaction, and cooperation in the learning of oral medicine.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate the effectiveness and high satisfaction of CBD combined with online learning in the teaching of oral medicine. This study is expected to provide new ideas for improving the dental teaching quality.

Sustaining Student Roles, Digital Literacy, Learning Achievements, and Motivation in Online Learning Environments during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The sudden COVID-19 pandemic has forced many educational institutes to shut down and many students to stay home receiving online learning. This study aims to identify the changes in student roles and digital literacy and the strategies to improve motivation and learning achievement in online learning environments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a rapid evidence assessment review study based on the protocol of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA), it is concluded that student roles have experienced great changes, that students have assumed multiple roles and that they are socially and cognitively engaged in their roles, roles that can be promoted by information technologies. Their digital literacy, individually varying, needs to be improved although it has undergone improvements. Digital technologies and social regulation can improve online learning achievements. Teaching strategies, teacher–student cooperation, gamification, and computer applications can improve online learning achievements. Future research could focus on inter-disciplinary research into the models to sustain online learning during or after the pandemic.

COVID-19 and Dental Education: the Experience of the Dental School from the University of Milan

In late February 2020, Lombardy became one of the outbreak areas of the novel coronavirus pandemic, leading to the revolution of traditional teaching. Here, we describe our teaching experience at the Dental School of the University of Milan, with a focus on the management of distance learning and clinical training. Distance education was enhanced with streaming lectures and videos of clinical procedures. Students' opinions on this "digital revolution" were very positive, despite few technical and organizational problems. For assuring the clinical training, we completely renovated the structural architecture from open spaces to closed spaces. The pandemic changed dental education with future repercussions.

Online teaching, quality of life and anxiety of Brazilian dental professors during the COVID-19 outbreak

The COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in academic teaching and dental education, but the impact on dental professors' mental health and quality of life remains poorly understood. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of social distancing and online teaching related to COVID-19 on the quality of life and anxiety of Brazilian dental professors. This was a cross-sectional study conducted from August 2020 to October 2020. Three instruments were used in an online version: a questionnaire about personal data, academic information and online teaching activities, the Generalized Anxiety Disorders 7 (GAD7) scale, and the Abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-bref) scale. All instruments were sent by e-mail, social media, and messaging apps to private and public universities and professors. Of the 318 responses, 187 (58.8%) were from female professors. Moreover, lack of good internet access and adequate place for online teaching, difficulties in producing teaching materials, and housework roles had a significant impact on the quality of life and anxiety scores (all p-values < 0.05). Also, Brazilian dental professors who declared that they would make greater efforts if the activities were face-to-face had significantly worse quality of life and anxiety scores, and female professors had significantly higher anxiety scores (all p-values < 0.05). These results provide evidence of a negative effect of social distancing and online teaching activities related to COVID-19 outbreak on the health-related quality of life and mental health of Brazilian dental professors.

A real-time video-based social network platform for online ultrasound education

BACKGROUND

In the post-pandemic era, traditional methods of professional development for ultrasound practitioners are insufficient, and it is therefore imperative to explore a new avenue for continuing education. This article explores the role of the real-time video-based social networks for medicine combined with e-enterprise to train ultrasound practitioners.

METHODS

We created a live broadcasting room on the real-time video-based social networks for medicine and imparted online education on ultrasound usage with "YiQixiu" as the transmission carrier. We developed a satisfaction questionnaire for the online class in real time, and tested the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analysis was used (P ≤ 0.05 indicates significance).

RESULTS

The landing page on YiQixiu was mainly concentrated in the Hunan Province, accounting for 56% of visitors. The total number of people watching online real-time lectures was 32,344; the maximum number of fixed attendance was 17,000, and the minimum number was 3,000. The questionnaire met the needs of this study, with a reliability value of 0.93. The participants were from 18 provinces, 4 autonomous regions, and 4 municipalities directly under the central government.

CONCLUSION

The real-time video-based social networks for medicine combined with the YiQixiu live platform is a good method for imparting ultrasound medical education online.

Virtual and Traditional Lecturing Technique Impact on Dental Education

This study tries to identify the influence of the new coronavirus pandemic on dental education by assessing dental students’ perception and their didactic performance regarding virtual and traditional lectures. The final academic performances of students from different years of study at the Faculty of Dental Medicine who participated in undergraduate courses through two different lecturing modes (traditional and virtual) were compared. The same students were evaluated in terms of their preference between the two lecturing techniques. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean values for final grades of virtual and traditional technique in favor of the latter one. In pandemic conditions, because of safety reasons, virtual lecturing was the most preferred technique. For dental faculty, this process of transitioning from traditional to virtual is a continuous process, which was suddenly imposed, but which at this moment offers multiple opportunities from a didactic point of view. Analyzing the grade, the virtual lecturing techniques demonstrated superior didactic performance. Although students preferred the virtual lecturing technique more than the traditional one, better-designed research is required to verify the long-term effect of the two lecturing techniques on students’ formation and deepening of knowledge.

Critical Self-Appraisal Towards the Better Use of a Webinar Series as an Online Tool for Postgraduate Teaching

Introduction: The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic adversely affected the conventional teaching mode, resulting in an exponential rise in online modalities such as webinars. Simultaneously, the lockdown provided substantial time to pursue potential academic content on the web. It is known that newly admitted postgraduate students of Physiology require a structured program that can guide them to conduct research for the completion of the course.

Methods: Gauging the opportunity, a webinar series was conducted on basic research methodology and thesis writing in Physiology. The series comprised hourly lectures delivered between 4:00 and 5:00 pm for seven consecutive days. Suggestions for future topics for webinars were sought through open-ended questions. Additionally, feedback for increment in students' knowledge at the end of the webinar was also inquired on a Likert scale. Open-ended answers were pooled into fields, and Likert scale scores were evaluated.

Results: There were 364 (35.8%) postgraduate students who registered for the webinar. The remaining were faculty (51.6%), research scholars (8.8%), and senior residents (3.8%). Among the postgraduate students who submitted the feedback, a majority (98.4%) of them agreed that their knowledge was enhanced at the end of the series. Most of the postgraduate students (31%) chose Biostatistics for future webinars.

Conclusion: Webinars are a useful tool for postgraduate teaching. They should be constructed with engaging infrastructure and relevant examples. The availability of recorded content on the online forum is beneficial for asynchronous learners. Having an idea about students’ choice for essential topics helps in the advanced planning of a demanding webinar.

Dental education practices during COVID-19: A scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Dental education was brought to a halt with the emergence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Traditional dental education comprised students working closely with instructors in a clinical laboratory setting; however, public health precautions necessitated a shift to a virtual learning platform. A scoping review of dental education practices since the start of the pandemic will help to understand approaches instructors have taken to provide dental education during this unprecedented time and suggest future applications of virtual learning in dental education.

METHODS

We performed an exhaustive scoping literature search of primary peer-reviewed intervention articles published between December 2019 and April 2021 using the following databases: Academic Search Premier, Cochrane Library, Embase, ERIC, LitCovid, MedEdPortal, MedRxiv, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science. The selection process included two independent reviewers through each phase of review. Articles were categorized and analyzed by domain.

RESULTS

A total of 629 articles were identified; after titles and abstracts were reviewed, 66 articles were selected for full-text review. Following full-text review, 41 articles met eligibility criteria and comprised our study sample. Articles were arranged within domains of assessment, instruction, instructional technology, and software. The advantages to online dental education included improved accessibility, willingness to accept new assessment techniques, and lower anxiety levels. Barriers included problems with technology, classroom time management, lack of student interaction, and absence of hands-on training.

CONCLUSION

Evidence suggests emerging best practices in dental education during COVID-19, and recommendations for the future of virtual and distance learning in dental education.

Effectiveness of screen-to-screen and face-to-face learning modalities in dental anatomy module during Covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced all dentistry faculties to quickly shift to the online supplementation or replacement of traditional modules to pursue education. However, there is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of this education modality on student performance in dental anatomy and manipulation module. Accordingly, it was aimed to compare the influence of different education modalities on the performances of the students enrolled in this module. The students were requested to perform 11 practical assignments throughout the fall term. A total of 220 face-to-face-educated (F2F) and 138 screen-to-screen-educated (S2S) students were included. To evaluate the influence of education modality on the performances of the students, cumulative success scores were calculated and compared using an independent t-test. The grades of the first (maxillary central), sixth (maxillary premolar), and eleventh assignments (mandibular first molar) were also analyzed to understand the manipulation-skill progress of each student within the same year. The grades of above-mentioned three assignments were converted into nominal data (excellent, very good, good, acceptable, and fail) based on certain thresholds, and a chi-square test was conducted. The cumulative success scores in F2F group were significantly lower than those in S2S group (P = 0.02). Differences between the first and eleventh tasks in both education modalities were significant (P < 0.05). The S2S-educated students achieved significantly higher achievement points in the sixth and eleventh assignments (P < 0.001). The S2S education can be suggested as an applicable modality for teaching dental anatomy and manipulation module. However, further work is needed to ascertain whether this result is replicable throughout dental anatomy education.

Nursing Student's Satisfaction With Virtual Learning During COVID-19 Pandemic in India

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the world in 2020. Every country adopted quarantine measures to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus infection. These measures resulted in dramatic changes in the daily lives of most people. In the academic world, students faced a shift from the traditional classroom-based teaching to virtual distance learning platforms. This shift in nursing education posed challenges both to the instructors and students as they were not fully prepared for this transition.

Objective

The study assessed the nursing students' satisfaction with the virtual learning experience during the COVID-19 pandemic in selected nursing colleges in India.

Methods

The study was conducted in four nursing colleges in India. A total of 1,166 Diploma, Post Basic BSc (N), BSN, and MSN nursing students participated in the study. Ethical approval was obtained from all the nursing colleges included in the study. The Google Forms satisfaction survey included student, teacher, course, technology, environmental, and practical dimensions.

Results

The response rate was 86.31% (n = 1,166). The overall satisfaction with virtual theory and practical classes has a mean and SD score of 67.14 + 11 and 16.21 + 3.46, respectively. The results showed that overall 51% of the students had good satisfaction with virtual theory classes while 48% had moderate satisfaction. In terms of overall satisfaction with virtual practical classes, approximately 39% had good satisfaction, 58% had moderate satisfaction and nearly 3% had poor satisfaction. In addition, the students expressed that they had good satisfaction with Teacher dimension (64.3%), Student dimension (63%), and Course dimension (57.2%). On the contrary, they expressed poor satisfaction in the Technical dimension (11.3%) and Environmental dimension (5.6%). The results showed that the courses, the place of attending class, and health issues were significantly associated with the student's level of satisfaction with virtual learning.

Conclusion

Although the majority of the students rated their satisfaction level as being "good" in virtual theory classes and "moderate" in virtual practical learning, most of them were dissatisfied with the Technical and Environmental dimensions of virtual learning. This results calls for blended learning strategies to be designed to enhance better learning outcomes and, to ensure deepened level of satisfaction with virtual learning activities.

Impact of COVID-19 on dental education- a scoping review

BACKGROUND

A new corona virus called COVID-19 and its epidemic has affected health care systems in many ways. There have also been significant changes in dental education. The present study summarizes the findings about dental education resulting from a scoping review of COVID-19 and dentistry.

METHODS

First, a comprehensive search of five databases (Google Scholar, Medline through PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Central) was conducted with the keywords: COVID-19 and its equivalent terms, dentistry, education, oral, students, curriculum, and academics. Articles related to oral health and COVID-19 were searched. Then articles on the subject of dental education were screened and reviewed.

RESULTS

Of the 1389 articles investigating COVID-19 and dentistry, 135 articles were related to dental education and its relationship with COVID-19. The most articles in this field were from the United States, India, and Saudi Arabia. Most of the articles were cross-sectional and then review articles. Based on the review the articles were divided into two main categories of changes and concerns, and opportunities and solutions. Moreover, the following themes were extracted: teaching-learning quality and methods, study career and how students are prepared, infection control policies, theses, exams and assessments, financial and economic security, students and staff's mental health, school's policies and curricula, knowledge of students and staff about COVID-19.

CONCLUSIONS

Dental education now faces big challenges, some of which have never been experienced before. On the other hand, the epidemic has created opportunities for dental education as well. Most of these challenges and opportunities are the same around the world, and the findings of the present study can be a good help to overcome the challenges ahead as well as a good reference to find the right questions to be answered in future studies.

Perceptions of Dental Undergraduates Towards Online Education During COVID-19: Assessment from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka

PURPOSE

The social distancing mandates instituted during COVID-19 pandemic mark the sudden transition in the mode of dental education's delivery to the virtual instruction. It is vital to assess students' perceptions towards virtual learning environments, particularly among those gaining education in resource-strained countries. This cross-sectional study aims to assess the perceptions of dental undergraduates towards online education, environment and transferable skills and patient care during COVID-19 in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Dental preclinical and clinical undergraduate students from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka were recruited from November 2020 to March 2021 through a 47-item web-based survey consisting of psychometrically valid subscales of Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) and Transferable Skills Questionnaire. The mean scores of students' perceptions of learning, environment, and patient care skills were compared among preclinical and clinical students of the participating countries.

RESULTS

Of total 930 participants, 44.4% were from India, 26.1% from Sri Lanka and 29.5% responses from Nepal. Sri Lanka reported the highest mean scores across all domains of perception indicative of positive attitude. Clinical students from all participating countries had statistically significantly higher positive perception of transferable skills in patient care as opposed to their preclinical counterparts. On the contrary, perception towards learning was higher among preclinical students as opposed to clinical students. These differences were statistically significant for Nepal and Sri Lanka.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study underscore the need to develop and implement effective online dental educational interventions to foster academic growth and essential practical skills without compromising academic rigor and continuity in the dental education curriculum.

The perspective of undergraduate dental students on web-based learning in pediatric dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic: a Korean multicenter cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world and created a shift in the dental education program. This sudden change in the dental education program may have affected the academic standards of dental students. This study aimed to evaluate the overall satisfaction and effectiveness of online learning in pediatric dentistry of undergraduate dental students' during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.

METHODS

An anonymous online survey was sent to three dental schools, and responses were collected from dental school students. Questions included the demographics, perspectives of online classes, comparison of online and offline pediatric dentistry classes and opinions on how dental schools are handling the pandemic. Students' perspectives on online classes were evaluated based on satisfaction with online education. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS

Most students took online classes from home (80.9%) using Zoom (50.4%). The majority reported overall program satisfaction (74.1%) and agreed that universities implemented online classes well (55%). Students who were in favor of online classes responded more positively to questions on the effectiveness and safety of online learning (p < 0.05). Regardless of satisfaction with online education, the students agreed that the online education shift was the right decision in pandemic outbreak.

CONCLUSIONS

Dental students in South Korea preferred and adapted well to the web-based learning program in pediatric dentistry during COVID-19 pandemic.

Experiences of international medical students enrolled in Chinese medical institutions towards online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to pause. One hundred and eighty-eight countries have imposed countrywide school closures, affecting more than 1.5 billion children and youths. The majority of academic leaders are currently encouraging online education to resolve this crisis. This study aimed to investigate international medical students' (IMS) experiences of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Data were collected online using a validated questionnaire and one open-ended question, presented on the Google forms platform. The study attracted responses from 1,107 IMS volunteer participants. IBM SPSS v. 25, GraphPad Prism v. 9, and MindManager v. 2018 were used for data analysis. All variables were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. The Mann-Whitney U test was used in subgroup analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis test was also applied for year-wise comparisons. Open-ended text responses were analyzed qualitatively, extracting themes by which responses were classified.

Results

Among 1,107 respondents, a total of 67.8% were males, and the majority (63.1%) of the IMS were in the age group of 21-23 years. The results show that more than half of the respondents reported their Internet connection quality as poor to average. Poor Internet connection severely affected IMS online learning experience. Persistent and recurrent issues with Internet access became a significant concern for IMS. Lack of electricity is one of the factors that can contribute to poor learning output and dissatisfaction with online teaching. IMS perceive online medical education as unhelpful in several phases of the training, such as improving their clinical skills, knowledge, and discussion skills.

Conclusions

During these unprecedented periods, online teaching has allowed medical education to continue. However, IMS are generally dissatisfied with online teaching. Medical students must visualize the human body, so supportive technologies are important to compensate for the lack of clinical practices. Medical institutions may need to invest in faculty training programs and continually adjust to enhance the content of online training and international partnerships. A switch from conventional face-to-face teaching to a fully functional virtual education framework in the medical education field will take time and experience.

Online learning during COVID-19 produced equivalent or better student course performance as compared with pre-pandemic: empirical evidence from a school-wide comparative study

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic forced dental schools to close their campuses and move didactic instruction online. The abrupt transition to online learning, however, has raised several issues that have not been resolved. While several studies have investigated dental students' attitude towards online learning during the pandemic, mixed results have been reported. Additionally, little research has been conducted to identify and understand factors, especially pedagogical factors, that impacted students' acceptance of online learning during campus closure. Furthermore, how online learning during the pandemic impacted students' learning performance has not been empirically investigated. In March 2020, the dental school studied here moved didactic instruction online in response to government issued stay-at-home orders. This first-of-its-kind comparative study examined students' perceived effectiveness of online courses during summer quarter 2020, explored pedagogical factors impacting their acceptance of online courses, and empirically evaluated the impact of online learning on students' course performance, during the pandemic.

METHOD

The study employed a quasi-experimental design. Participants were 482 pre-doctoral students in a U.S dental school. Students' perceived effectiveness of online courses during the pandemic was assessed with a survey. Students' course grades for online courses during summer quarter 2020 were compared with that of a control group who received face-to-face instruction for the same courses before the pandemic in summer quarter 2019.

RESULTS

Survey results revealed that most online courses were well accepted by the students, and 80 % of them wanted to continue with some online instruction post pandemic. Regression analyses revealed that students' perceived engagement with faculty and classmates predicted their perceived effectiveness of the online course. More notably, Chi Square tests demonstrated that in 16 out of the 17 courses compared, the online cohort during summer quarter 2020 was equally or more likely to get an A course grade than the analogous face-to-face cohort during summer quarter 2019.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first empirical study in dental education to demonstrate that online courses during the pandemic could achieve equivalent or better student course performance than the same pre-pandemic in-person courses. The findings fill in gaps in literature and may inform online learning design moving forward.

Perceptions of dental students towards online education during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose

This study evaluated the usage habits, attitudes, and perceptions of undergraduate dental students toward distance (online) learning and identified variables related to those attitudes.

Materials and methods

The study included 1,605 undergraduate dental students who participated voluntarily. The data collection tool consisted of a distance learning attitude scale, a questionnaire on personal information, and open-ended questions. The perceptions of dental students to distance education according to the year and type of dental school they attended were evaluated.

Results

Most students expressed that distance learning in dental courses was not as effective as traditional face-to-face education (59.1%, n=949). While students studying at state universities had a more negative view of distance education, the satisfaction scores of the first-year students were found to be significantly lower than the other students (p<0.05).

Conclusion

Dental students were generally unhappy with the interruption of traditional education caused by COVID-19 and having to continue their education online. However, under the circumstances, they saw it as an advantage allowing them to continue their education and avoid a complete suspension.

Emergency remote teaching in higher education: mapping the first global online semester

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic that spread globally in 2020, higher education courses were subsequently offered in fully remote, online formats. A plethora of primary studies began investigating a range of topics exploring teaching and learning in higher education, particularly during the initial semester. In order to provide an overview and initial understanding of this emerging research field, a systematic mapping review was conducted that collates and describes the characteristics of 282 primary empirical studies. Findings reveal that research was carried out mostly descriptively and cross-sectionally, focusing predominantly on undergraduate students and their perceptions of teaching and learning during the pandemic. Studies originate from a broad range of countries, are overwhelmingly published open access, and largely focused on the fields of Health & Welfare and Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics. Educational technology used for emergency remote teaching are most often synchronous collaborative tools, used in combination with text-based tools. The findings are discussed against pre-pandemic research on educational technology use in higher education teaching and learning, and perspectives for further research are provided.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41239-021-00282-x.

Comparison between Virtual and Traditional Learning Methods for Orthodontic Knowledge and Skills in Dental Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

A gradual transition from traditional face-to-face learning to online learning has been observed globally following the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to compare online and traditional learning methods in relation to orthodontic knowledge and skills acquired in undergraduate courses. A quasi-experimental design was used with two consecutive year classes of 198 dental students at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. The experimental (virtual) group of 92 students received the content of a clinical orthodontic course virtually using the Blackboard Collaborate™ platform. The control (traditional) group consisted of a previous cohort of 106 students who enrolled in the same course but received traditional classroom education. The students were evaluated through a semester, and both groups obtained the same content and exam questions. The students in the virtual group scored higher in the final theory exam than the traditional group (p-value < 0.05). However, no significant difference in the overall orthodontic knowledge and skills was observed between the groups at the end of the course. Both learning methods showed moderate positive correlation between orthodontic knowledge and skills. In conclusion, virtual learning can serve as an effective alternative to traditional face-to-face learning for teaching orthodontic knowledge and skills to the dental students.

Students' and Teachers' Perspective on the Implementation of Online Medical Education in China: A Qualitative Study

OBJECTIVE

Due to the quarantine measures during the outbreak of COVID-19, medical schools in China had to shift to online education overnight. Researchers wanted to survey the online medical education status quo and find out the underlying challenges and probable solutions in terms of online medical education to better understand improving and developing medical education in China.

METHODS

Researchers distributed self-administered and piloted surveys regarding the implementation of online medical education on WeChat and Wenjuanxing. Researchers distributed three phases of online surveys to the undergraduate medical students, and one online survey to the medical teachers on phase three.

RESULTS

Online medical education was carried out smoothly in China. Seventy-six percent of the students were satisfied with online medical education, and it hardly changed after a month. Courses with the quiz and live-stream courses were rare compared with courses incorporated with other elements. Most parents would remind their children to study online at home. At first, the biggest challenge of learning online was the lagging platform. Nevertheless, as time went by, the major challenge became the learning motivation. Most students thought it necessary to re-teach face-to-face after online education, while most teachers did not think so.

CONCLUSION

Generally speaking, online medical education was satisfying for both students and teachers, although online courses' diversity with different forms and elements could be enhanced. Infrastructure construction should be considered first for the schools intended to promote online medical education. If the infrastructure were ready, learning motivation would become the biggest challenge for online medical education. Online medical education efficacy evaluation tools need to be developed in the future to narrow the discrepancy of the evaluation between teachers and students.

Impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on the department of stomatology in a tertiary hospital: A case study in the General Hospital of the Central Theater Command, Wuhan, China

Objective

The impact of the worldwide COVID‐19 pandemic on the dental community is evident. Dental education programmes and academic activities have suffered from the ramifications of the pandemic. This study aimed to depict the impacts of the COVID‐19 epidemic on the clinical services and academic activities in the department of stomatology of a tertiary hospital in Wuhan, China.

Methods

We obtained historical data of the Department of Stomatology from the Health Information System of the General Hospital of Central Theater Command, Wuhan, China between January 2018 and June 2020. Mean, standard deviation and median with interquartile range were used to summarize the variables. Line plots were used to illustrate the temporal trend. The Kruskal‐Wallis equality‐of‐populations rank test was used to compare the difference between groups.

Results

A significant decrease was noted in the monthly average number of patients seeking outpatient services for the year 2020, which were decreased by two‐thirds from 2018 to 2020. The number of emergency cases also decreased significantly by 57.6% in 2020. The monthly number of teaching hours decreased from 3.8 ± 1.5 in 2018 and 4.7 ± 1.4 in 2019 to 1.7 ± 1.9 in 2020. The number of interns also decreased by more than 77.0% in 2020.

Conclusions

The impacts of COVID‐19 in the stomatology clinic were significant with notable decreases in clinical services and education offered to the stomatology students. There is a need to find solutions to keep as many dental professionals as needed remaining on the frontline of oral health care.

Changes in and Effects of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and Listening Anxiety on Chinese Undergraduate Students' English Proficiency in the COVID-19 Context

The present longitudinal survey study explored changes in and effects of foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and listening anxiety (FLLA) on Chinese undergraduate students’ English proficiency over a semester in the COVID-19 context. A set of 182 matching questionnaires was collected from first-year undergraduate English as a foreign language learners at two time points of a 16-week semester. Analyses of the data revealed the following major findings: (1) the participants experienced high levels of FLCA and FLLA both at the beginning and end of the semester, neither of which changed significantly during the semester, (2) FLCA and FLLA were highly positively related to each other, (3) FLCA and FLLA significantly predicted students’ self-rated proficiency in listening and speaking English, and (4) confidence in using English, efforts and motivation to learn English and interaction with instructors and peers mediated FLCA and FLLA to exert effects on students’ self-perceived proficiency in listening and speaking English. These findings indicate that the learning environment is critical in influencing the levels of and changes in FLCA and listening anxiety and that these two types of foreign language anxiety are serious issues in the pandemic foreign language learning context.

Satisfaction with remote teaching during the first semester of the COVID-19 crisis: Psychometric properties of a scale for health students

Introduction

Due to the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 220 million college students in the world had to halt face-to-face teaching and migrate to what has been called Emergency Remote Teaching, using virtual media, but without adequate preparation. The way this has impacted the student body and its satisfaction with the training process is unknown and there are no instruments backed by specific validity and reliability studies for this teaching context. This is why this study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the Remote Teaching Satisfaction Scale applied to Chilean health sciences students.

Method

Quantitative study by means of surveys. We surveyed 1,006 health careers undergraduates chosen by convenience sampling. They came from six Chilean universities, located over a distance of 3,020 kilometers and followed 7 different careers. Women comprised the 78.53%. They answered the Remote Teaching Satisfaction Scale online to evaluate their perception of the first Emergency Remote Teaching term in 2020.

Results

A descriptive analysis of the items showed a moderate to positive evaluation of the teaching. The Confirmatory Factorial Analysis showed an adequate adjustment of the theoretical four factors model to the data obtained (CFI = 0.959; TLI = 0.953; RMSEA = 0.040). Correlations among factors oscillated from r = 0.21 to r = 0.69. The measurement invariance analysis supported the Configural, Metric and a partial Scalar model. Differences were found in three of the four factors when comparing the first-year students with those of later years. Finally, the Cronbach’s α and McDonald’s ω coefficients were over 0.70.

Discussion

The results display initial psychometric evidence supporting the validity and reliability of the Remote Teaching Satisfaction Scale to assess academic satisfaction in Chilean health careers students. Likewise, it is seen that first-year students show higher satisfaction levels about the implemented teaching.

The effects of oral health education regarding periodontal health on non-dental undergraduates in southwestern China-exploring the feasibility of an e-learning course for oral health promotion

Background

The high prevalence of periodontal diseases is an important oral health problem worldwide. It is necessary to increase public knowledge on and influence attitudes towards periodontal diseases in order to prevent them. However, the effect of oral health education (OHE) as a primary preventive method in China is unsatisfactory. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of extending an e-learning course regarding periodontal health by comparing the effects of oral health education regarding periodontal health (OHE-PH) on dental and non-dental students and the effects between a traditional course and an e-learning course among non-dental students at Sichuan University.

Methods

A quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and a post-test was performed. A total of 217 dental students and 134 non-dental students attended a traditional course; 69 non-dental students attended an e-learning course. Before- and after-course questionnaires about periodontal health knowledge, attitudes and behaviours were administered.

Results

After the traditional/e-learning course, the knowledge of both dental and non-dental students about periodontal diseases and self-reported behaviours for gingival bleeding and oral care improved. The non-dental students reached or surpassed the level of dental students before the course. The non-dental students taking the e-learning course performed better in some areas than those taking the traditional course.

Conclusions

OHE-PH was effective for dental and non-dental students. The e-learning course on OHE-PH was sufficient for improving knowledge and self-reported behaviours among non-dental undergraduates and was even better than the traditional course in some areas. The e-learning course may be an effective method for periodontal health education and oral health promotion among undergraduates.

Emergency remote teaching in higher education: mapping the first global online semester

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic that spread globally in 2020, higher education courses were subsequently offered in fully remote, online formats. A plethora of primary studies began investigating a range of topics exploring teaching and learning in higher education, particularly during the initial semester. In order to provide an overview and initial understanding of this emerging research field, a systematic mapping review was conducted that collates and describes the characteristics of 282 primary empirical studies. Findings reveal that research was carried out mostly descriptively and cross-sectionally, focusing predominantly on undergraduate students and their perceptions of teaching and learning during the pandemic. Studies originate from a broad range of countries, are overwhelmingly published open access, and largely focused on the fields of Health & Welfare and Natural Sciences, Mathematics & Statistics. Educational technology used for emergency remote teaching are most often synchronous collaborative tools, used in combination with text-based tools. The findings are discussed against pre-pandemic research on educational technology use in higher education teaching and learning, and perspectives for further research are provided.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41239-021-00282-x.