Virtual and Traditional Lecturing Technique Impact on Dental Education

Abstract

This study tries to identify the influence of the new coronavirus pandemic on dental education by assessing dental students’ perception and their didactic performance regarding virtual and traditional lectures. The final academic performances of students from different years of study at the Faculty of Dental Medicine who participated in undergraduate courses through two different lecturing modes (traditional and virtual) were compared. The same students were evaluated in terms of their preference between the two lecturing techniques. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean values for final grades of virtual and traditional technique in favor of the latter one. In pandemic conditions, because of safety reasons, virtual lecturing was the most preferred technique. For dental faculty, this process of transitioning from traditional to virtual is a continuous process, which was suddenly imposed, but which at this moment offers multiple opportunities from a didactic point of view. Analyzing the grade, the virtual lecturing techniques demonstrated superior didactic performance. Although students preferred the virtual lecturing technique more than the traditional one, better-designed research is required to verify the long-term effect of the two lecturing techniques on students’ formation and deepening of knowledge.

Evaluating video‐based lectures on YouTube for dental education

“…8 Altogether, videos should be a complement, rather than a competitor to live lectures, particularly as the need for remote education grows, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. [3][4][5][6] Viewer survey findings indicated that students are more likely to use online videos as adjunctive study materials than textbooks, social media and journals, consistent with other studies where dental students achieved higher test scores following videos compared to textbook reading (Figure 2). 10,33 MD viewers have grown from 18 to more than 200,000 over the past 6 years, suggesting demand for accessible online resources.…”

“…Videos are also more expensive and time‐consuming to produce initially yet can be repeated year‐after‐year and ultimately result in cost savings 8 . Altogether, videos should be a complement, rather than a competitor to live lectures, particularly as the need for remote education grows, spurred by the COVID‐19 pandemic 3–6 …”

“…1,2 The use of multimedia and web-based applications accelerated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with an obligatory shift to more digital and video-based lectures (VBLs) in virtual/remote settings. [3][4][5][6] However, the shift to VBLs in dental school curricula is not universal. 4 Among the 40 top-searched dental videos on YouTube, dental schools are directing students to only 5% of this content.…”

“…[3][4][5][6] However, the shift to VBLs in dental school curricula is not universal. 4 Among the 40 top-searched dental videos on YouTube, dental schools are directing students to only 5% of this content. 7 Reports addressing the effectiveness and perception of video lectures as a learning tool in healthcare education are encouraging.…”

“…The delivery of educational content in dental schools continues to evolve, with a trajectory towards more sophisticated, graphical and interactive platforms 1,2 . The use of multimedia and web‐based applications accelerated because of the COVID‐19 pandemic, with an obligatory shift to more digital and video‐based lectures (VBLs) in virtual/remote settings 3–6 . However, the shift to VBLs in dental school curricula is not universal 4 .…”