Διερεύνηση της εκπαιδευτικής αποτελεσματικότητας της συνδυασμένης μάθησης για τη διδασκαλία των προπτυχιακών φοιτητών Οδοντιατρικής

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a blended course on undergraduate oral radiology and compare its educational effectiveness to a conventional course. Students’ attitudes concerning the distance methodology were also registered. Methodology: An original course, concerning the “radiographic differential diagnosis of mixed osseous lesions” was developed and implemented, and its electronic version was uploaded to an e-learning educational platform. The course was attended by two groups of final year students. Students answered a series of questionnaires, before and after completing the course, regarding their perceptions, attitudes and evaluation of the course. Additionally, students completed knowledge assessment tests and their grades (before and after the course) were compared. Educational effectiveness of the course was determined by analyzing the results of the questionnaires and the tests. Results: All students’ final grades at the post-course knowledge test were significantly higher than their initial ones. Students in the blended group (mean grade 8.08) performed significantly better than their colleagues of the conventional group (mean grade 6.86) in the post-course knowledge test and female students performed generally better than male students. Students evaluated high the course content, organisation, educational material, and the blended learning students, additionally appreciated the course design and clarity of instructions. Approximately 91% of the blended group students, who attended the face-to-face meeting, evaluated it as helpful for summarizing the subject and clarifying difficult issues. Students rated highly the instructor’s cooperation, attitudes and communication capabilities. Conclusions: Under the limitations of the study, blended learning seems an effective method, well evaluated by dental students.