• Nader A Nadershahi, Daniel J Bender, Lynn Beck, and Steven Alexander.
• Office of Academic Affairs, University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA. nnadershahi@pacific.edu
• J Dent Educ. 2013 Jun 1; 77 (6): 679-87.

AbstractCalls for fundamental reform of dental education were made twice in the twentieth century. More recently, spurred by the work of the American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI), North American dental educators have again begun advocating for major curriculum reform in order to develop in students the higher order thinking skills required for the contemporary practice of dentistry. This case study describes the process of curricular reform at one school designed to move from a traditional siloed curriculum to one that uses case-based, integrated multidisciplinary courses to improve teaching and learning. The process was broad-based and comprehensive and included a schoolwide values clarification exercise and agreement on desired characteristics of an ideal graduate. Stakeholders agreed that the reform curriculum should incorporate inter- and multidisciplinary courses, case-based and active learning strategies, and concepts from adult learning theory. The new curriculum model is comprised of five unique but related curriculum "strands," each managed by a small group of interdisciplinary faculty content experts. Challenges in the development and implementation of the reform curriculum are discussed, and an assessment plan is presented.

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