Dental education profile in COVID‐19 pandemic: A scoping review

Abstract

Introduction This scoping review aimed to determine the frequency of different teaching methodologies, tools and platforms applied in dental education during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Materials and Methods The search strategy was performed in six databases and grey literature. A total of 28 questionnaire‐based studies were included, without language or time restriction, from 20 different countries. Results Six thousand five hundred sixty‐five participants were assessed: 84% undergraduates, 9% of faculty members, 5% of postgraduate students/residents/trainees and 2% of dental schools/residency programs. The pooled eligible data for teaching methodologies were 62% of a combination of different methods (95% CI, 35.5% to 82.3%), 23% a combination of synchronous and asynchronous formats (95% CI, 8.2% to 50.2%) and 15% for only synchronous lectures (95% CI, 4.3% to 42.2%). The reported tools were laptops (40%), smartphones (40%), tablets (40%), desktops (20%), Blackboard (20%), Respondus Lockdown Browser (20%), eProctor (20%) and PowerPoint (20%). The most used platforms were Zoom (70.6%), Microsoft Teams (23.5%) and Cisco Webex (23.5%). A better time management (17.9%; 95% CI, 7.9% to 35.6%) and the possibility of revision with additional notes (14.3%; 95% CI, 5.7% to 31.5%) was the greatest advantages related to dental e‐learning, while the increased levels of anxiety/stress/burnout/exhaustion (35.7%; 95% CI, 21% to 54.2%) and internet connection problems (35.7%; 95% CI, 21% to 54.2%) was the most cited disadvantages. Conclusion This scoping review showed promising blended teaching methodologies, tools and platforms in the dental education profile. The evidence suggests that e‐learning technologies can widely contribute to dental education during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Therefore, this study makes a major contribution to research by assessing the impact of COVID restrictions on dental education and further studies are needed to identify how restrictions in dental practice will affect future professionals.

Knowledge mapping of COVID-19 and dentistry: A bibliometric analysis

“…Furthermore, teachers should focus on the pressure associated with COVID-19 and provide students with psychological services. Di Carvalho Melo et al ( 48 ) comprehensively reviewed the frequency of different teaching methodologies, tools, and platforms applied in dental education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The advantages of online learning are the comfort of attending classes everywhere and every time, the possibility of less distraction, greater concentration on presentations, and the opportunity to review recorded classes repeatedly to take additional notes.…”

Dental students' and faculty perception of online exams with e‐invigilation in Cyprus

“…However, the pandemic and the subsequent need to safeguard the health of students and staff forced universities to use alternative approaches and implement online learning, along with the online summative assessment as the only evaluation method for students and courses 16,19,25 . Although there were reports of less successful implementations of online exams 37,38 and valid scepticism on its suitability for assessing clinical competencies (e‐OSCEs) was expressed, 3,17–19 the majority of reports appreciate the advantages of e‐assessment, while not underestimating its challenges and disadvantages 4,20,21,25,28 …”

“…This can be attributed to several reasons: faculty members were less experienced in online learning systems (mean answers' score 3.33, Question 1) than students (mean answers' score 4.22 in the relevant question—Question 2). Faculty members may feel overwhelmed with the numerous tools and applications they have to choose from and unable to address even minor technological problems 4,28 . Moreover, as reported elsewhere, the set‐up of online exams requires significantly increased time, to both familiarize with the software and upload the exam content to the platform, 14,18 as well as sufficient training ahead through webinars and guidebooks.…”

“…Similarly, clinical competences' evaluations were postponed by the majority of Schools in Europe and worldwide, whereas formative and summative assessments were either postponed or organized online 3 . This transition to online learning and assessment was an emergency, not underpinned by sufficient experience or substantial research, nor supported by relevant training for the educators and the students; however (or maybe because of these deficiencies), it presented unique opportunities to implement cutting‐edge educational reforms, which would not have been possible to happen under normal circumstances, to such a large extent 4 . Thus, many of the ‘emergency’ online educational procedures have remained in the post‐COVID era, having been tested and proven to offer significant advantages.…”

Diş Hekimliği Eğitimcilerinin Çevrimiçi Eğitime Bakış Açıları

“…Universities use different online education methods such as synchronous and asynchronous according to the current infrastructure and the number of students. 30 Although every university has its online education methods, 182 (52%) of the educators who participated in the study stated that the infrastructure of the university in which they work is sufficient. The number of educators who stated otherwise is only 81 (23.14%).…”