An investigation of dental student values

The development of a dental student's professional values system is an important issue in dental education. The purpose of this study was to assess the relative importance of different values of dental student and instructor populations at a single dental school. Data was collected from surveys disseminated to dental students and faculty. Statistical analysis of the data indicated faculty showed a different set of values than students. Faculty placed greater value on patient care and clinical education. Students were more focused on passing licensure examinations, completing course requirements, and personal satisfaction. Junior and senior dental students placed greater value on the requirements of becoming a licensed dentist than did their younger student colleagues. Freshman and sophomore dental students placed higher values on additional academic pursuits and personal growth. This study also revealed no statistically significant difference between males and females in any of the values ranked.     

A road map from Nebraska

OBJECTIVE: To describe the arrangements for the provision of emergency dental services for students at the University of Manchester and to report data collected during the first four and a half years of the student emergency dental services (SEDS) unit based at the University Dental Hospital of Manchester. METHOD: Data pertaining to every student attending SEDS since its inception were collected by means of questionnaire including provision to record diagnoses, treatment needs and the emergency care provided. RESULTS: The incidence of dental emergencies within the student population served by SEDS has been found to be 39 emergencies per 1000 students per annum, with the service being most heavily used by overseas students. Caries, pulpal pathology and failed restorations account for 46 per cent of the presenting emergencies, with pericoronitis (19 per cent) and other emergencies of periodontal origin (14 per cent) being common place. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that a student emergency dental service may be found to be an important element of student medical and related welfare services.     

Contract teaching of academic skills.

Studied 92 college students enrolled in a study-skills course. An individualized contract requiring students to identify nonproductive study behaviors and agree with their instructors on appropriate strategies for desired change was examined for effects on attitudes to study and subsequent academic achievement. Two instructors each taught a contract and a noncontract group. A group of 18 Ss taught by a 3rd instructor acted as a control to check for experimenter effect. Contract Ss improved significantly more on self-reported attitudes toward study (Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes) than either noncontract or control students. A follow-up study showed that contract students gained better GPAs and maintained this improvement for 2 yrs. Results are discussed in terms of the demands made on both student and instructor by this method of instruction. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of Computerized Dynamic Assessment to Improve Student Achievement: Case Study

Recent studies have reported on the benefits of dynamic assessment (DA) in improving student learning and achievement through diagnostic monitoring of student misunderstandings, providing context-specific feedback, and assessing the improvement thereafter. Following these reports, a computer-based DA system has been developed by us for use in an undergraduate hydraulic engineering course. This case study presents data collected before and after implementation of this DA system that shows improvement in student performance. In this study, student performance is quantified by the percent of questions correctly answered in the fundamentals of engineering (FE) exam relative to the national average. Since implementation of the DA system in 2004, this measure for our students has increased from below national level [mean = 0.942; SD = 0.068] in nine administrations of the FE exam, to above national level (mean = 1.068; SD = 0.028) in the last five administrations. Based on this measure, performance of these students in fluid mechanics has been higher than that in the other subjects where DA was not used (mean = 1.068; SD = 0.028 versus mean = 0.854; SD = 0.029). Performance of our students in fluid mechanics has also been higher than that of their peers in the Carnegie top tier programs (mean = 1.068; SD = 0.028 versus mean = 1.022; SD = 0.020).     

Correction and update: interest in pediatric dentistry

Correcting and updating the data on senior dental student plans for pediatric dentistry training indicates that there is a continuing and increasing interest in pediatric dentistry specialty training. Except for 1993, compared to the earlier period, this increase was at a slower rate, however, than that reported previously in the Journal.     

The Missouri Mathematics Effectiveness Project: An experimental study in fourth-grade classrooms.

Investigated the effectiveness of an experimental mathematics teaching program. The treatment program was primarily based on a naturalistic study of 40 relatively effective 4th-grade mathematics teachers. Students were tested before and after with a standardized test and a content test (posttest only), which had been designed to approximate the actual instructional content that students had received during the treatment. Observational measures revealed that teachers generally implemented the treatment, and analyses of product data showed that students of treatment teachers generally outperformed those of control teachers on both the standardized and content tests. Since strong efforts were made to control for Hawthorne effects, it seems reasonable to conclude that teachers and/or teaching methods can exert a significant difference on student progress in mathematics. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dental students' attitude to gender roles

This investigation assessed attitudes held by United States women and men dental students toward professional and sex role concepts. The concepts included: female dental student, male dental student, dentist, adult woman, adult man, wife and husband. These attitudes were evaluated and compared in the context of the students' current and future professional roles and their sex roles. Although there were several differences in attitudes between the two subject groups, the results suggest that the women and men dental students viewed their various roles as consistent with one another. It is particularly important to note that the women dental student is viewed by both gender groups as having professional and sex roles which do not conflict.     

Computers in dental education

The advent of electronic support for dental education offers many possible improvements in the manner in which information is conveyed to students. Although dental schools are only beginning to implement these concepts and devices, there is indication that they will become increasingly common. Concepts can be more lucidly conveyed when images and mulitmedia are used effectively. Distances can be transcended, and information gathered from and conveyed to others without regard to physical limitations. The dental school curricula must accommodate the changing milieu in which dentistry is practiced and prepare students for the future, electronically assisted dental practice.     

Improving elementary mathematics education in Nicaragua: An experimental study of the impact of textbooks and radio on achievement.

Reports an experimental study of the effect of textbook availability on mathematics achievement of approximately 3,000 students in 88 Nicaraguan 1st-grade classes. This intervention is compared with control classes in which textbooks are relatively rare and with a radio-based instructional program that uses student worksheets but no other textual material. Classes were assigned at random to the 3 conditions, control and 2 treatments. The groups scored similarly on a pretest of mathematical readiness. Both the textbook and the radio treatments had significant positive effects on achievement. Availability of textbooks increased student posttest scores by about 3.5 items correct, approximately .33 of a standard deviation. Availability of the radio instructional program increased student posttest scores by 14.9 items, about 1.5 standard deviations. Both interventions reduced the achievement gap between urban and rural students. However, the question remains whether either radio or textbook use is sufficiently powerful to close the substantial achievement gap that exists between the schools of high- and low-income societies. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimulus size scaling and foveal load as determinants of peripheral target detection

This paper reports two experiments on the effect of scaling the size of stimuli (using factors derived from consideration of cortical magnification) on the detection of peripheral visual targets. In the first experiment two levels of magnification, fully M-scaled and half M-scaled, were used to scale stimuli that were presented briefly. The performance decrement normally associated with increasing retinal eccentricity did not occur with both levels of magnification. There was an unexpected decline in performance at low eccentricities and possible explanations are discussed. The second experiment investigated the effects of half M-scaling on a peripheral detection task with the addition of foveal cognitive loading as would be found in many practical tasks. Half M-scaling improved performance with and without the presence of foveal loading, and the improvement was greater for the foveal load condition when the target was at the larger eccentricities. These results provide a useful indication of the possibility of reducing the effect of tunnel vision for visual inspection tasks on visual displays or, possibly, control panels through the development of variable resolution projection displays matching the psychophysical properties of the human visual system.     

Learning by reflection: the effect on educational outcomes

Learning by experience involves being able to reflect on a personal happening and through a process of analysis, come to understand it. Such an activity should result in 'deep learning' when carried out in a structured way. Higher education establishments are keen to develop such learning methods in students, as a secondary effect of this form of learning is to create student independence from the teacher. This is a much sought after ability as recent government changes have meant higher student numbers without a corresponding rise in teacher numbers. This threatens the quality of student knowledge unless it is compensated for in some way. This study sets out to examine the learning of two student groups. The experimental design was that of group comparison using matched pairs of students. One group, the experimental group, were exposed to reflective teaching methods, whilst the other group (the control group) were exposed to conventional teaching methods only. At the end of a set period of time, the learning achieved in both groups was estimated using an especially designed test paper. The results obtained from both groups were compared and it was found that there was no significant difference obtained in the learning between the groups (P>5%) Therefore, we concluded that students learnt just as well using reflective methods when compared to the conventional methods of learning. However, the potential for enhancement of learning was evident and invites further investigation. All the students in this study were on the Diploma in Higher Education (Nursing) course. The subject area used throughout the study was in the biological sciences.     

Familiarity with content and conditional reasoning.

Examined the relationship between familiarity of content and conditional reasoning. It was hypothesized that there would be an interaction between Ss' familiarity with content in the premises and their conditional reasoning performance. 43 graduate students in education and 53 1st-yr dentistry students took a 30-item test of conditional reasoning that was based on 5 logical arguments each repeated twice with symbolic, lay dental, and professional dental content. Data were analyzed using a 2-way multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures with the 5 arguments as dependent variables. The interaction between student type and content was not supported. Significant main effects for content were attributed to the lay and professional vs symbolic contrast. It is concluded that conditional reasoning performance was not influenced by Ss' familiarity content in the premises. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inspecting expectancy: Some laboratory results of relevance for teacher training.

Because the principal requirement of any "purposive system" is feedback, the dynamic system of teacher-student interaction having as a purpose the advancement of student problem-solving abilities could, therefore, be expected to show the importance of feedback. 80 male college students were required to assist 1 "bright" and 1 "dull" hypothetical student on a problem-solving task. Dimensions of teacher-student feedback were evaluated as a function of teacher expectancy and awareness of possible expectancy effects. Results show that teacher expectancy effects were evident when Ss were unaware of the possibility of such effects and thus were unprepared to deal with students of differing abilities grouped together. Unaware Ss directed both greater levels of encouragement and criticism toward the student of presumed greater ability. Ss who were given special instruction that heightened awareness of expectancy effects were able to guard successfully against qualitatively different treatment of students of differing abilities. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hemodynamic structure of antiorthostatic reactions: relationship of mechanical activity of the heart and arterial pressure

This paper is an update on the issue of dental student debt and provides additional data and an exploration of continued trends which were outlined by Douglass and Fein in the 1995 IOM study of The Future of Dental Education. Dental school tuitions have continued to increase at rates at or above the consumer price index. These tuition bills are increasingly being met by debt financing on the part of the students. These trends are described and then related to recent data on the future plans of dental school seniors. The second part of the paper will provide new updated date on dentists' incomes and analyze the trend in dental fees versus the consumer price index. The final section provides a summary of pay back mechanisms currently being offered to students.     

Examining the effects of classroom discussion on students’ comprehension of text: A meta-analysis.

The role of classroom discussions in comprehension and learning has been the focus of investigations since the early 1960s. Despite this long history, no syntheses have quantitatively reviewed the vast body of literature on classroom discussions for their effects on students’ comprehension and learning. This comprehensive meta-analysis of empirical studies was conducted to examine evidence of the effects of classroom discussion on measures of teacher and student talk and on individual student comprehension and critical-thinking and reasoning outcomes. Results revealed that several discussion approaches produced strong increases in the amount of student talk and concomitant reductions in teacher talk, as well as substantial improvements in text comprehension. Few approaches to discussion were effective at increasing students’ literal or inferential comprehension and critical thinking and reasoning. Effects were moderated by study design, the nature of the outcome measure, and student academic ability. While the range of ages of participants in the reviewed studies was large, a majority of studies were conducted with students in 4th through 6th grades. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between preceptor expectations and student performance on 2 pediatric objective structured clinical examination stations

BACKGROUND: We designed 2 pediatric objective structured clinical examination stations, 1 anemia case associated with lead exposure and 1 failure-to-gain-weight case associated with extended breast-feeding, to evaluate third-year medical students who had studied in pediatric community preceptors' offices as part of a 12-week multidisciplinary ambulatory clerkship rotation. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between preceptor expectations and student performance on these 2 objective structured clinical examination stations. METHODS: To elicit community preceptors' expectations of student performance, we constructed a 46-item survey replicating checklists filled out by simulated patients evaluating student performance on the objective structured clinical examination stations. The percentage agreement among preceptors for each checklist item as well as the percentage agreement between preceptor responses and student responses on each checklist item were calculated. A summary score of preceptor responses across all checklist items and a summary score for student responses across all checklist items on each station were calculated. The correlation coefficients between preceptor and student summary scores were then examined. RESULTS: Fifty-nine preceptor surveys were mailed and 38 were returned (64% response rate). Data were usable from 37 surveys. Eighty-nine percent (33 of 37)of the preceptors agreed that a third-year clerkship student should have the knowledge to care for the patient with anemia and 92% (34 of 37)of the preceptors agreed similarly for the growth-delay case. Agreement among preceptors on individual checklist items varied widely for both cases. Fifty-seven students studied at the anemia station and 34 students studied at the growth-delay station. The mean+/-SD agreement across the 26 items on the anemia case between preceptor responses and student responses was 62%+/-23% and, for the 21 items on the growth-delay case, 60%+/-17%. The mean+/-SD preceptor summary score for the anemia case was 17.4+/-3.8 (maximum, 26) and 16.0+/-3.6 (maximum, 21) for the growth-delay case. The mean student score on the anemia case was 15.5+/-3.7 (maximum, 26) and, for the growth-delay case, 10.0+/-4.5 (maximum, 21). The Pearson correlation coefficient between the preceptor and student scores on the anemia case was 0.19 (P=.15), and for the growth-delay case,-0.41 (P=.06). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest community preceptors agree on topic areas in which students should be clinically competent. There was, however, considerable variation in agreement among preceptors about what preceptors believe students should be able to do and how the students actually perform. The overall percentage agreement between preceptor expectations and student performance appears to be no better than chance.     

The effects of conjoint behavioral consultation and a structured homework program on math completion and accuracy in junior high students.

The effects of conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) and a structured homework program on math homework completion and accuracy in 5 8th and 9th graders who were at risk for academic failure were investigated. A multiple baseline design across the Ss was utilized. Follow-up data were collected approximately 1 mo after CBC was completed, to assess maintenance over time. Four of the 5 students improved their completion rates during treatment. Accuracy rates increased during treatment, but to a lesser degree. At follow-up, 3 of the 5 students maintained or improved gains they made during treatment. One student who had not improved during treatment showed improvement at follow-up. Another student was unable to maintain the gains made during treatment. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology graduate student training in developmental disability: A Canadian survey.

Psychology graduate student training in developmental disability has received very little attention in North America, and no study has examined the state of training for clinical and counselling psychologists in Canada, despite their involvement in the controlled act of diagnosis and their use of standardised instruments used regularly with this population. This study sought to examine psychology graduate student training in the area of developmental disability across Canada. We invited students from every Canadian Psychological Association accredited Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, and Counselling Psychology program to participate in an online survey, distributed through university email lists. Three hundred and three students reported on the developmental disability content within their training and coursework, their perception of the adequacy of that content, and their ideas for program improvement. Results indicated that the majority of students believed it important to have training in developmental disability, yet struggled to obtain adequate didactic and experiential opportunities. The lack of sufficient training was most pronounced for students whose training was adult-focused, but was also high for students with a life span or child focus. We discuss different possibilities for increasing developmental disability training opportunities, including integrating its content within courses on assessment and diagnosis, psychotherapy, and ethics, and providing students with supervision from psychologists who work with this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A causal analysis to predict the personal and academic adjustment of nontraditional students.

A causal model of nontraditional student adjustment was developed from sociopsychological concepts and a person–environment fit paradigm. Measures of student role evaluation, commitment to the student role, and self–good student role incongruence were collected at the beginning of an academic year and used to predict the level of personal distress experienced at the beginning of the next spring quarter and academic performance across that academic year. The subjects (N?=?179) were nontraditional undergraduate and adult special students. The results indicated that the data were consistent with the major hypotheses advanced in the model. Self-evaluation and commitment to the student role both had a direct effect on student role congruence, which in turn had a direct effect on academic performance and personal distress. Recommendations for future model development are made, and possible implications for nontraditional college student development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)