The purpose of this study was to identify the factors underlying dental students' evaluations of preclinical instruction. Ninety sophomore students in academic year 1979–80 and 74 sophomore students in academic year 1980–81 rated five preclinical instructors in a fixed prosthodontic technique course. At the end of the course, prior to final examinations, students received a 24‐item evaluation instrument designed to assess preclinical teaching behavior. All items were rated on a 5‐point scale, with response options ranging from no agreement to strong agreement. Factor analytic techniques were used to identify common sources of variation among items. Results indicate that 22 of the 24 items correspond to two underlying, stable dimensions that summarize preclinical teaching effectiveness, teaching style, and orientation toward students. The discussion compares teaching effectiveness dimensions identified in dental education studies with dimensions identified in studies of college instruction.

This paper explores the collaborative research relationships between clinical dentists and behavioral scientists in dental education. The emergence of behavioral sciences in dentistry is discussed and attention is given to the nature of professional roles in collaborative clinical research. Components for a model for collaborative clinical research are specified based on the research experiences of behavioral scientists with colleagues in prosthodontics and orthodontics.