Journal of dental education
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During the first and second year of the dental curriculum, students have little time to process and learn the didactic material in a meaningful way because of the large number of required courses in the curriculum. If an outcome of dental education is to promote critical thinking, however, methods need to be explored to encourage this process in dental students throughout the curriculum. Reflecting on experience is the way learners "make meaning" out of the information they acquire, and "making meaning" is an integral component in the development of critical thinking. ⋯ The major themes identified from the data were: 1) connections between didactic material and the clinical experience, 2) the students' vision of their future role as dentists, and 3) the nature of the dentist-patient interaction. The data further suggest a process of reflective thinking that begins with students' questioning assumptions about their prior experience and knowledge that leads them to look at things in a new way and ultimately to recognize the need to take some action to provide care to the patient. The findings suggest that encouraging students to keep a clinic journal or write reflection papers about their experience may be a way to enhance student learning and is an area that deserves further research.
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To address concerns about the growing shortage of dental educators, the UCLA School of Dentistry initiated an elective course to introduce fourth-year students to issues in academic dentistry and to provide an apprentice teaching experience. Participants in the elective (referred to as student teachers) developed a microcourse entitled "Welcome to Dental Anatomy," presented to incoming first-year students during orientation week. ⋯ The positive impact on student teachers and incoming first-year students indicates that this approach has great potential for encouraging more graduates to pursue careers in academic dentistry. In addition, the program has the potential to be expanded by adaptation to other foundational courses in the dental and dental hygiene curricula.