• Marcia M Ditmyer, Connie C Mobley, and William D Davenport.
• School of Dental Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 1001 Shadow Lane Campus, MS 7410, Las Vegas, NV 89106; marcia.ditmyer@unlv.edu.
• J Dent Educ. 2014 Mar 1; 78 (3): 368-79.

AbstractThe purpose of this project was to evaluate a Research, Professional Development, and Critical Thinking Integrative Model developed for use in a dental curriculum. This article outlines strategies used in developing a competency-based pedagogical model designed to provide a tailored student learning environment with objective, measurable, and calibrated assessment outcomes. The theoretical model integrated elements of critical thinking, professionalism, and evidence-based dentistry across dental school disciplines; implementation was based on consensus of dental faculty and student representatives about course content, faculty allocation, and curriculum alignment. Changes introduced included the following: 1) conversion and integration of previously siloed course content taught in Years 1 and 2 to sequential two-year combined courses; 2) reduction of course and content redundancies; 3) delivery of courses by teams of faculty members in biomedical, behavioral, and clinical sciences; and 4) reduction of total curriculum credit/contact hours from 13.5 (201 contact hours) to 5.0 (60 contact hours), allowing the Curriculum Committee to accommodate additional courses. These changes resulted in improvement in student satisfaction.

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