Author: Sean Stone, MLS – Dentistry Librarian, Indiana University School of Dentistry Submitter: Sean Stone, MLS – Dentistry Librarian, Indiana University School of Dentistr
Objective: To recreate a survey of faculty teaching methods and attitudes towards teaching originally given in 1965, administer it to current dentistry faculty, and compare and contrast the results.
Methods: The original survey was administered in print to full and part-time faculty as part of one dental school’s inaugural teaching conference in 1965. The content of the original survey was slightly updated and modified and distributed as an electronic Qualtrics survey to all current full-time and adjunct faculty at the same dental school in 2021.
Results: Faculty of 1965 provided data and opinions on a number of topics. A strong majority of full-time faculty indicated that they enjoyed teaching and most commonly taught didactic classes. About half of part-time faculty enjoyed teaching although a strong majority enjoyed teaching along with private practice and most taught in clinics. A quarter of part-time faculty were interested in possible full-time appointments. Neither group felt that teaching was more intellectually stimulating than private practice and virtually no one felt that teaching was easier than private practice. A small majority reported having disciplinary problems with students, most of which were: absences, tardiness, and cheating. Only 8-11% felt that dental students were honest although a majority felt that cheating could be prevented. Results from the 2021 cohort of faculty are still forthcoming.
Conclusion: While the data has not been fully collected and analyzed, the attitudes of faculty of 1965 are certainly familiar to today’s faculty. If anything, faculty of 1965 might be slightly more cynical than those of today.
