Online Problem-Based Learning in Clinical Dental Education: Students’ Self-Perception and Motivation

Abstract

The physical closure of higher education institutions due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shed a brighter light on the need to analyze, explore, and implement strategies that allow the development of clinical skills in a distance learning situation. This cross-sectional study aims to assess dental students’ self-perception, motivation, organization, acquired clinical skills, and knowledge using the online problem-based learning method, through the application of a 41-item questionnaire to 118 senior students. Answers were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics analysis. Further, a principal component analysis was performed, in order to examine the factor structure of the questionnaire. Results show that online problem-based learning can be considered a relevant learning tool when utilized within the specific context of clinical dental education, displaying benefits over the traditional learning strategy. Overall, dental students prefer a hybrid system over the conventional one, in a distance learning context, and assume self-responsibility for their own learning, while knowledge thoroughness is perceived as inferior. This online active learning method is successful in improving information and clinical ability (visual/spatial and auditory) advancement in the scope of dental education, with similar results to presential settings. Further studies are required to assess clinical skill development through active learning methods, in a distance learning context.

Determining Factors Affecting the Acceptance of Medical Education eLearning Platforms during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines: UTAUT2 Approach

“…eLearning has been the medium of delivery of medical educational institutions to address the scarcity of medical professionals [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. In this study, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) was extended to determine the factors affecting the acceptance of eLearning platforms for medical education in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, eLearning has been widely utilized as the medium of instruction, including among medical students [ 30 , 31 ]. In this study, the UTAUT2 was extended to determine the factors affecting the acceptance of eLearning platforms (e.g., Moodle, Docebo, and Blackboard [ 39 ]) in medical education in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 40 ].…”

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Academic Activity and Health Status among Romanian Medical Dentistry Students; A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In light of national COVID-19 infection-control recommendations, dental faculties had to suspend in-person instruction, and teaching activity was conducted online. Some researchers who focused on online dental education pointed out the rapid change adopted by dental faculties in many countries, such as the USA [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], Germany [ 10 ], Italy [ 11 ], China [ 12 , 13 ], Chile [ 14 ], Brazil [ 8 , 15 , 16 ], Pakistan [ 17 ], Nepal [ 18 , 19 ], Indonesia [ 20 ], India [ 21 , 22 ], Jordan [ 23 ], Romania [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], Portugal [ 27 , 28 ], Cyprus [ 29 ], Australia [ 8 , 30 ], and Spain [ 31 ]. During the first year of the pandemic, the academic research teams additionally wanted to identify the differences between countries in what aspects of dental education were disrupted.…”

Pharmacy Student Challenges and Strategies towards Initial COVID-19 Curriculum Changes

“…Previous studies have utilized software log data, questionnaires, interviews, and more [3,4,6,7]. Though these data sources are beneficial for understanding our studied phenomenon, we add a new perspective by analyzing students' naturally occurring reflections.…”

“…Students have reported several challenges and low satisfaction with engaging in virtual learning during COVID-19 [1,4]. In contrast, other authors have reported that health professions students have adapted well from the challenges and virtual learning has resulted in better attendance, engagement, and feedback as both teaching staff and students have created various ways to cope [5,6].…”