Journal of dental education
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The "hot seat" experience: a multifaceted approach to the teaching of ethics in a dental curriculum.
The subject of ethics and the teaching of skills associated with ethical reasoning in a predoctoral dental curriculum are as important as clinical skills development, but there is no single approach to teaching ethics in dentistry. This article aims to describe the didactic approach used to teach dental ethics and ethical reasoning in the first year of the D. M. ⋯ This descriptive article discusses three main pedagogies employed to teach ethics: the "hot seat" experience via a role-play with a trained actor (standardized patient, SP); small-group presentations of a case workup deconstructing an ethical dilemma; and student reflections from the SP encounters. The approach to dental ethics presented here does not profess to make an otherwise unethical person ethical, but it can give all students the tools to recognize when a dilemma exists, use a process to reason ethically, and ultimately make a good decision. The "hot seat" and the case workup approaches have had a positive impact upon students as illustrated through their reflections; however, further study is needed to better understand the implications of ethical issues in both academic and professional settings.
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Prior research has found that participation in course offerings provides a means of professional development and results in changes to faculty beliefs and instructional practices. However, as with most professional development initiatives in education, little is known about the sustainability of these training efforts. The research question that guided this study was the following: Do professional development efforts in teaching result in observed learning outcomes among faculty members? In this study, teaching observations served as the primary data source. ⋯ Six of the participants infused the description of actual or hypothetical cases to illustrate the connections between teaching and patient care, while six utilized reflective practices. Findings from the interviews corroborated the observations. Overall, the findings showed that participants demonstrated the integration of those strategies that were taught during the seminars, which were consistent with teaching critical thinking skills and showed that the learning acquired during professional development initiatives was sustained.
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Highly publicized reports and current research on cheating in dental schools and dental hygiene programs have created a resurgence of proactive measures in the deterrence of academic dishonesty. A majority of administrators and faculty members are of the opinion that cheating does occur at their schools and may have been personally involved with incidents of cheating through observation or student reporting. With the information age and the diverse makeup of today's student body, there may be differences in what is considered academic dishonesty between students and educators. ⋯ Surveys were distributed at the educational program of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Section on Dental Hygiene Education at the 2009 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition. Results show the majority of these educators had had experience with cheating occurrences and believe that there are disparities between students and educators and among cultural groups in defining academic dishonesty. No differences or patterns emerged between academic integrity characteristics and occurrences or reports of cheating.