Assessment methods and feedback strategies in dental education

Objectives: There has also been a growth in the number of dental professionals employed by universities to teach within the new dental programs in Australia - from only five dental schools in 2002 to nine dental schools in 2011. Some of these dental professionals had no experience or qualifications in education and many were recruited from overseas. It is within this context that an interest in assessment of clinical skills and feedback strategies in dental education emerged.Methods: Research was conducted with teachers, students and graduates in the School of Dentistry and Oral Health at Griffith University in Semester 2, 2010. 36 x informal interviews were conducted with academic and sessional teachers; 64 x 2nd and 3rd Year Dentistry and Oral Health Therapy students were surveyed; and data from the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) were accessed for the School from 2006 to 2010.Results: Only 5/24 (20%) academics and 1/12 (less than 10%) sessional teachers were confident that the School is assessing students’ clinical/laboratory skills in the best and most appropriate manner. The data for the teachers and that for the students show a discrepancy in that the students want and value feedback but the academics and sessional teachers find it difficult to provide the feedback, especially in the clinical environment. For the graduates, only 16/32 (50%) in 2007, 9/26 (34.6%) in 2008, 19/48 (39.6%) in 2009 and 36/50 (72%) in 2010 of respondents agreed that the teaching staff normally gave the students helpful feedback on how each was going.Conclusions: Analysis of the data from the exploratory work with teachers, students and graduates at Griffith University supports the proposition that further research is required to understand the complex interplay between philosophy of the School, the curriculum, learning and teaching processes, assessment methods and feedback strategies in dental education.