Should Attendance Be Required in Lecture Classrooms in Dental Education? Two Viewpoints

Abstract

This Point/Counterpoint discusses the long-argued debate over whether lecture attendance in dental school at the predoctoral level should be required. Current educational practice relies heavily on the delivery of content in a traditional lecture style. Viewpoint 1 asserts that attendance should be required for many reasons, including the positive impact that direct contact of students with faculty members and with each other has on learning outcomes. In lectures, students can more easily focus on subject matter that is often difficult to understand. A counter viewpoint argues that required attendance is not necessary and that student engagement is more important than physical classroom attendance. This viewpoint notes that recent technologies support active learning strategies that better engage student participation, fostering independent learning that is not supported in the traditional large lecture classroom and argues that dental education requires assimilation of complex concepts and applying them to patient care, which passing a test does not ensure. The two positions agree that attendance does not guarantee learning and that, with the surge of information technologies, it is more important than ever to teach students how to learn. At this time, research does not show conclusively if attendance in any type of setting equals improved learning or ability to apply knowledge.

Why do students skip classroom lectures: A single dental school report

“…Lecture absenteeism is a controversial debate with regard to its connection to academic performance. Numerous studies have reported on the causal relationship between non-attendance and academic achievement [1,5]. Looking at the current data, several factors had an impact on students' attitude towards classroom attendance.…”

“…However, students' attendance in classrooms had declined significantly in the recent years on a local and national levels [4]. This maybe attributed in part to change in attitude, their ability to learn the material on their own and today's era of evolving online education rendering class attendance unneeded [5]. Other factors linked to students' interest in attending classroom lectures include class subject (the scope and difficulty of the subject), faculty member lecturing style and transportation to school, stress, time management and poor health were also reported as secondary factors contributing to classroom attendance [4,6,7].…”

“…Other factors linked to students' interest in attending classroom lectures include class subject (the scope and difficulty of the subject), faculty member lecturing style and transportation to school, stress, time management and poor health were also reported as secondary factors contributing to classroom attendance [4,6,7]. As a result, a growing controversy over the effectiveness of traditional faceto-face lectures and their contribution to students' learning is on-going [5].…”

Effect of Lecture Attendance and Prerequisite Academic Outcomes on Dental Students’ Oral Pathology Performance

“…Also, to reduce additional variables that would likely affect attendance, we purposely avoided adding digital media forms of instruction (e.g., video recordings of lectures). Currently, however, when online and digital media are both desired and may enhance performance in dental education, 1 there will be a need for further study of how to best use these modalities in light of their potential effect on attendance 20 , 21 . Our study indicates a need for further research to determine which form or blend of instructional modalities (live lecture, recordings/online resources) will optimize student performance in OP.…”

“…Improving student performance on examinations and course grades is one measure of effective teaching and learning. Among the many student‐and instructor‐driven variables that can contribute to improved performance, one that is increasingly scrutinized in this era of digital and online education is lecture attendance 1 . There is a growing trend among students in higher education to not attend lectures 2 .…”