Incorporation of Common Core National Standards into Classroom Dental Education
(PO-027) Incorporation of Common Core National Standards Into Classroom Dental Education
Sunday, March 20, 2022
1:00pm – 3:00pm EST
Location: Hall C
Author: Sophie Chase – Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine Author: Juanita Canal – Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine Author: Michelle Henshaw, D.D.S., M.P.H. – Associate Dean, Global and Population Health, Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine Submitter: Juanita Canal – Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine
Objectives: The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) provide national educational benchmarks for children in K-12th grade in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. Dental schools frequently partner with public elementary schools to provide classroom oral health education. If it is possible to use the CCSS to develop classroom oral health education, children will learn about oral health while simultaneously making progress towards CCSS benchmarks.
Methods: The CCSS ELA and Mathematics domains were reviewed to assess potential alignment with oral health content. A convenience sample of 1st grade lesson plans that were previously utilized in Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine’s Service-Learning Program (SLP) were then analyzed for concordance with CCSS domains. Using the CSS standards as a guide, the content, modality and educational activities of the lesson plans were then adapted to more directly support a wider range of CCSS benchmarks.
Results: Of the four CCSS mathematics domains, the ability to “Represent and Interpret Data” was integrated mostly commonly. This domain was targeted by 25% of SLP dental health lesson plan objectives. Of the six ELA domains, “Reading Informational Texts” and “Writing” were most commonly integrated within 62.5% and 12.5% of SLP learning objectives, respectively. These lesson plan were reframed to increase the frequency of these previously identified domains and to incorporate additional ones that were not previously utilized, such as “Key Ideas and Details”, “Craft and Structure”, “Text Types and Purposes” and “Fluency”.
Conclusion: The incorporation of CCSS into the delivery of oral health classroom education will enhance the outcomes of the relationship between dental schools and their K-12 educational partners. If dental health lessons in classrooms can minimize time away from the CCSS learning objectives, it also may make more K-12 schools willing to incorporate them into their curricula.
