Journal of dental education
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Differences in learning and the cultural context of our students' life experiences are important variables that faculty members need to understand in order to be effective in the classroom. Faculty members are finding that millennial students' approaches to learning are often vastly different from their own and as a result feel frustrated in their ability to help these students with their learning needs. Cultivating awareness of how today's dental hygiene student learns as well as the millennial learner profile can help faculty members address this educational challenge. ⋯ Given this new generation of learners, it was hypothesized that dental hygiene students' learning style preferences would fit the learning profile of the millennial student. The Learning Type Measure was administered to 101 dental hygiene students at the University of Minnesota, University of Arizona, and Virginia Commonwealth University. The results from the study revealed that dental hygiene students do exhibit learning style preferences consistent with the millennial learner profile.
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Multicenter Study
Final-year South African dental student attitudes toward a research component in the curriculum.
South Africa has recently introduced a compulsory research component into the undergraduate dental curriculum. This study was undertaken to establish how the students experienced the research exercise and what outcomes could be determined. A questionnaire of thirteen open- and closed-ended questions was distributed to final-year students at all four South African dental schools. ⋯ South African dental undergraduates may not like the research component, but this is not due to lack of enthusiasm on their part. It appears that both internal and external factors impacting the South African dental academic system are influencing their research experience and making it unattractive. These factors should be identified and addressed at the school level where it is possible to optimize student research training.
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This report summarizes the history and curriculum of the American Dental Education Association/Academy for Academic Leadership Institute for Teaching and Learning (ADEA/AAL ITL) Program for Dental School Faculty, describes participant feedback, and reviews how the program serves the faculty development initiatives of the American Dental Education Association. The fifty-hour program (6.5 days), conducted in two phases at collaborating dental schools, enhances core academic competencies of new and transitional faculty, including faculty members whose responsibilities include predoctoral, allied, and postdoctoral dental education. The program's mission is to prepare participants to become more effective teachers and develop other skills that will facilitate confidence, job satisfaction, and professional growth in the academic environment. ⋯ Ninety-six percent stated that the program had been important or very important in their effectiveness as a teacher. In 2010, the program will be held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry, with phase I occurring on August 19-22, 2010, and phase II on October 22-24, 2010. In summary, the ADEA/AAL ITL is addressing an unmet need through a formal professional development program designed to help new and potential faculty members thrive as educators and become future leaders in academic health care.
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The purpose of this study was to assess dental students' study habits and level of preparation necessary to successfully prepare for the National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) Part I. Four hundred thirty-seven dental students from across the United States participated in a web-based survey about their goals, results, and study habits in preparation for taking the NBDE Part I. ⋯ Students preferred to use the Dental Decks and released Part I exams to study for the exam, regardless of their score. No significant correlations between type of study source used and the score achieved on the exam were found.
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A significant factor in a faculty member's accepting or maintaining an academic appointment is the work environment. Assessing the work environment to identify characteristics that could increase faculty retention and recruitment could be valuable to an educational institution. This study assessed the academic dental work environment to identify positive and negative areas affecting career satisfaction. ⋯ Positive satisfaction aspects of the work environment listed by respondents included supportive chair/administration, working relationships with colleagues, and interactions with students. Negative satisfaction aspects of the work environment included low salary, long hours, and heavy workloads. Both positive aspects of job satisfaction and negative factors that impede productivity need to be analyzed within the framework of each institution to enact change for career enrichment, leading to increased faculty recruitment and retention.