(PO-070) Active Learning Principles and Student Engagement In Dental Hygiene Education

Author: Khairunisa M. Hashmani, Ed.D. – Assistant Professor, University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston
Submitter: Khairunisa M. Hashmani, Ed.D. – Assistant Professor, University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
Discover, from the students’ perspective, if active learning takes place in the classroom.
Identify, which active learning tools were most engaging perceived by the students.
Examine the methods of integration to use in the teaching/learning process 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. 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. 

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.