Does Teaching Method Affect Students’ Perceptions Regarding Communication Patterns in Pediatric Dentistry? A Comparison of Lecture and Video Methods

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether dental students' perceptions regarding six communication patterns for use in pediatric dentistry differed depending on whether they were taught by lecturing or by video-based teaching. Prior to the introduction of interpersonal skills in a clinical course in pediatric dentistry, four consecutive cohorts of students (n=107) in a German dental school were divided equally into two groups. Group one (n=57) was taught by video sequences and group two (n=50) by conventional lecture. Six communication patterns were presented: involvement of the child's toy(s), speaking in positive phrases, mentioning a personal aspect, recalling positive behavior of the patient, addressing fear verbally, and complimenting the patient. Immediately after the presentation, students were asked by means of a questionnaire about their assessment of and intentions regarding the clinical application of the communication patterns presented. After completion of the course, they were asked about the communication patterns that had been used. There were signiicant differences for three communication patterns in favor of video-based teaching (p<0.05); there were no signiicant differences regarding the intention for clinical application and the actual clinical application. In this study, students perceived differences between video-based teaching and lecturing regarding ease of use, but they did not seem to beneit from one method over the other regarding clinical application.Dr. Kalwitzki is Senior Lecturer,

A comparison of two forms of teaching instruction: video vs. live lecture for education in clinical periodontology

“…All students in both the video and the live lecture group were deemed to be clinically competent in the practical exercises as determined via the clinical checklist. This finding is comparable to that of some studies in dentistry . The equality in clinical competency in both groups may have been influenced by the post‐test assessment in‐class review, which introduced another form of instruction particularly in the video group prior to the clinical assessment.…”

“…The identical baseline mean pre‐test percentage scores reflect the initial comparability of the two groups prior to attendance at either the video or live lecture session. Most of the reported studies failed to indicate the baseline knowledge or abilities of the students prior to the intervention . However, whilst the use of a randomised controlled trial in some studies may account for selection bias, it may not eliminate the possibility for different baseline knowledge and abilities between groups .…”

“…The consensus on use of video for acquisition of clinical skill in dentistry has been due to few studies, varied study designs and small participant numbers. When comparing video alone to conventional lecture or demonstration in a clinical dental scenario, one study reported comparable learning outcome based on clinical exercise and another study comparable intension for clinical application based on questionnaire response . Other studies have reported an advantage of video alone compared to conventional lecture or demonstration as determined by clinical learning outcome and via evaluation of student attitudes based on questionnaire response .…”

Traditional Lecture

“…18 Beswick et al found that videos are better than a lecture for practical assessment. 19 Results of current study are agreement with findings of Paegle et al, 20 Cohen et al, 2 Packer et al 21 and Kalwitzaki et al 22 who reported that traditional lecture and video were equally effective for training different medical and dental skills.…”

Teaching and Assessment of Dentist‐Patient Communication Skills: A Systematic Review to Identify Best‐Evidence Methods

“…A systematic review of the medical literature, which included a large number of studies and reviews of medical communication skills, determined that no specific teaching strategy, either didactic or interactive, overshadowed the others 45 . With the understanding that the same may apply to dental teaching, our review of the articles listed in Table 1 2 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 12 – 17 , 23 – 32 , 34 – 40 , 43 , 44 , 46 – 65 can assist in determining the most suitable combinations of teaching strategies to enhance the systematic construction of a communication skills curriculum with appropriate content for different levels of dental studies.…”