Active Learning Principles and Student Engagement In Dental Hygiene Education

Background: A dental hygiene entry-level education prepares students for the clinical practice of dental hygiene. Schools must prepare graduates to think critically and engage in reflective practices. Educators are challenged to engage the learners as there are still transactional practices and traditional teaching methods. Experts suggest that educators should integrate various active learning strategies to ensure that the students engage in the learning process. Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative descriptive study was to investigate dental hygiene student engagement activities in the classroom, determine which active learning tool was the most engaging reported by the students, and determine if relationships exist between demographics and student engagement. This study may encourage educators to focus on improving active learning strategies for delivering dental hygiene education to increase student engagement. Methods: A sample of 321 entry-level second-year dental hygiene students completed the Active Learning Principles and Student Engagement in Dental Hygiene Education survey, which measured their perception of engagement with active learning tools in the classroom. Subjects also provided demographic data, including age, class size, and prior dental experience. This data was compared to the level of engagement using the Chi-square test. Quantitative analyses of the student survey were performed using the R Core Team 2018. The open-ended questions were analyzed using the constant comparative method with data coding to categorize and compare the data. Results: Findings indicated that the most engaging activities perceived by the students were Simulation hands-on activities (66%) followed by Small Group Presentations (56.5%) and Case Studies (56%) as the second most engaging activities, which was consistent with the open-ended responses. About 10% of the students indicated that they had not experienced a Computer-Based Interaction System. Close to half (47%) of the students stated that their dental hygiene program supports critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In comparison, 14% of the students stated that they sometimes or never received support to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. There was no relationship between demographics and the level of engagement in the various active learning tools. Students reported that PowerPoint lectures were the least engaging in the classroom. Conclusion: This study indicated that active learning tools used in the classroom engage students and that hands-on simulation activities, small group presentations, and case studies were the most engaging activities for dental hygiene students. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the change of didactic courses being online, the most engaging activities reported by the students were the Computer-Based Interaction System, breakout sessions with group projects, and case-based activities. Further research may help determine which active learning tool was the most engaging.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Professional Leadership, Education

Grantor

University of Houston

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Hashmani, Khairunisa Moosa

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Hausmann, Robert
• McNeil, Sara

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Henson, Harold
• Jeter, Cameron

• Education, Higher
• Education, Health
• Education, Curriculum and Instruction

Language dc:language.iso

English

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10657/20977

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/20977