Eleven-year experience implementing a dental undergraduate research programme in a prestigious dental school in China: Lessons learned and future prospects

The development and training effect of innovative undergraduate dental talents training project: A 6-year retrospective study

INTRODUCTION

To summarize the development of Innovative Undergraduate Dental Talents Training Project (IUDTTP) and investigate the training effect of this extracurricular dental basic research education activity from 2015 to 2020 to obtain educational implications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Guanghua School of Stomatology established the IUDTTP in 2015. The authors recorded the development process and analysed the participation situation, training effect, academic performance and overall satisfaction during 2015-2020 through documental analysis, questionnaire and quiz. The t-test, chi-square test and ANOVA were used to test the difference.

RESULTS

The educational goal, education module and assessment system of IUDTTP evolved and developed every year. A total of 336 students and 79 mentors attended the IUDTTP from 2015 to 2020, with the participation rate increasing from 45.1% to 73.5%. The participants exhibited favourable basic research abilities, manifesting as the increase of funded projects and published papers and satisfying quiz scores. Almost all students (94.94%) admitted their satisfaction with the IUDTTP. Moreover, the attended students surpassed the non-participants in terms of GPA, the number of acquired scholarships and outstanding graduates (p < .05). Likewise, the enrolment rate of postgraduate participants was significantly higher than non-participants.

CONCLUSIONS

To date, the training effect indicated that the IUDTTP has fulfilled the education aim. It brought positive effects on promoting research interest, cultivating research capacities and enhancing academic performance. The potential deficiencies of extracurricular educational activities, including inflexibility in schedule and insufficiency in systematisms, may be remedied by more systematic educational settings in the future.

Enhancing undergraduate research talents: the role of tutors in dental basic research education

Purpose

This study endeavors to investigate ways to optimize the role of teachers in undergraduate dental basic research education (UDBRE) with the aim of nurturing the research potential of undergraduate students.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study among medical undergraduates enrolled at the School of Stomatology, Guangzhou Medical University. Descriptive statistics were employed to comprehensively analyze UDBRE's fundamental aspects. Kendall rank correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the quality of feedback provided by tutors to undergraduates and the students' scientific research abilities. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to uncover the factors influencing the effectiveness of UDBRE.

Results

A total of 168 medical students were surveyed with a valid response rate of 93.85%. The effectiveness of UDBRE was demonstrated by undergraduates' self-rated research abilities, active participation in scientific research projects, and a certain amount of academic outputs. Significant and positive correlations (𝓣b> 0.5, p < 0.001) were identified between the tutor-undergraduate feedback quality and students' self-rated scores for scientific research abilities. These abilities included developing scientific questions, designing research projects, retrieving and reading literature, academic writing, experiment operation, and analyzing and evaluating experimental results. Positive effects on students' academic performance (p < 0.05) were observed when higher-quality feedback, an authoritative tutoring style and tutors with middle-career experience were present.

Conclusion

This study underscores the pivotal role of UDBRE in fostering the scientific research aptitude of medical undergraduates. It emphasizes the constructive influence of tutor-undergraduate feedback, authoritative teaching styles, providing valuable insights for establishing an effective mentorship framework.

Impact of Undergraduate Research as a Compulsory Course in the Dentistry Study Program Universitas Indonesia

Undergraduate (UG) research is regarded as a fundamental component in dental education. The present study was designed to examine the perception of the clinical students and the graduates of dentistry profession programs in the past 10 years on UG research as a compulsory course at the Faculty of Dentistry Universitas Indonesia. A total of 310 respondents, consisting of clinical students (64.8%) and alumni (35.2%), participated in this study. The majority of respondents (81.3%) agreed to UG research as part of compulsory courses in the curriculum of dentistry study programs. The positive impact of UG research on their professional careers was perceived by 78.3% of participants. Only 11.6% of participants responded that UG research experiments were not important in dental education, and 18.7% preferred UG research as an elective course. UG research as a compulsory course in the dental curriculum was well received by the majority of participants. Recommendations included student autonomy to select research topics of interest, longer duration to complete UG research, and more opportunities to present the research results in scientific conferences and to publish in scientific journals. Dental schools and their faculties play essential roles in improving the research environment for undergraduate dental students.

The picture of undergraduate dental basic research education: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Undergraduate dental basic research education (UDBRE) is broadly regarded as an important approach for cultivating scientific research talent. This scoping review aims to summarize the current status of UDBRE in terms of educational goals, teaching program and content, assessment system, training outcomes, barriers, and reflections.

METHODS

The authors performed a systematic literature search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) to identify peer-reviewed articles written in English from their inception to January 29, 2021. Articles were reviewed and screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Related data from the included publications were then collected and summarized.

RESULTS

The authors searched 646 publications and selected 16 articles to include in the study. The education goals included cultivating five major dental basic research capabilities (n=10, 62.5%) and developing interest in basic research (n=2, 12.5%). As for the teaching program, the mentor-guided student research project was the most popular (n=11, 68.8%), followed by didactic courses (n=5, 31.3%), experimental skills training (n=1, 6.3%), and the combination of the above forms (n=3, 18.8%). However, the assessment system and training outcome diverged. Existing evidence showed that UDBRE reached satisfying education outcomes. Barriers included excessive curriculum burden (n=2, 12.5%), tutor shortage (n=3, 18.8%), lack of financial support (n=5, 31.3%), and inadequate research skills and knowledge (n=5, 31.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

Although efforts were made, the variation between studies revealed the immature status of UDBRE. A practical UDBRE education system paradigm was put forward. Meanwhile, more research is required to optimize a robust UDBRE system with clear education goals, well-designed teaching forms, and convincing assessment systems.