The Relationship Between the Use of Online Resources and Dental Students' Attendance and Performance.
Azab, Ehab.
2015
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Abstract: Background: Educational resources for dental students are increasingly being provided through new technologies. Dental faculty members now commonly upload and record their lectures through software systems to maximize student access. These online resources can impact learning behaviors including whether students choose to attend lectures. Aims: This study was conducted to evaluate the ... read moreeffect of the use of online lecture materials on class attendance and students' performance in basic science and pre-clinical courses. The study also aimed to evaluate the relationship between previous (during undergraduate college) and current usage of online resources. Methods: The study targeted (190) 2nd year pre-doctoral students at Tufts university school of dental medicine (TUSDM) during the fall semester of 2014. Three basic science and three pre-clinical dental courses were selected. The online access habit for each participant was calculated. A survey containing questions about demographics, attendance and online usage behavior was conducted. The final grade for each participant in each selected course was obtained and matched with their online access and attendance. Results: Out of a total 190 students, 146 (77%) answered the survey. There was no significant relationship between grade and attendance. There was no significant relationship between grades and online usage. There was no significant relationship between attendance and online usage except for a weak negative relationship for Epidemiology (p = 0.0002) and the mean of overall pre-clinical dental courses (p = 0.03). There was no significant relationship between previous and current use of either lecture PPT/PDF (p= 0.62) and lecture recording (p= 0.43). Conclusion: Students who do not attend lectures and subsequently utilize online resources may perform just as well on exams as the students who attend. Students preferred a combination of lecture PPT/PDF and recordings to enhance their learning. The majority of the students thought that the availability of online resources could affect class attendance. Teacher's teaching style and time of the lecture during the day might play a role in student attendance.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2015.
Submitted to the Dept. of Periodontology.
Advisor: Nadeem Karimbux.
Committee: Yun Saksena, Tofool Alghanem, and Jennifer Bassett-Midle.
Keyword: Dentistry.read less - ID:
- h415pp27k
- Component ID:
- tufts:20244
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
