TY - JOUR
T1 - Should attendance be required in lecture classrooms in dental education? Two viewpoints
AU - Cutler, Christopher W.
AU - Parise, Mary
AU - Seminario, Ana Lucia
AU - Mendez, Maria Jose Cervantes
AU - Piskorowski, Wilhelm
AU - Silva, Renato
PY - 2016/12
Y1 - 2016/12
N2 - This Point/Counterpoint discusses the long-argued debate over whether lecture attendance in dental school at the predoctoral level should be required. Current educational practice relies heavily on the delivery of content in a traditional lecture style. Viewpoint I asserts that attendance should be required for many reasons, including the positive impact that direct contact of students with faculty members and with each other has on learning outcomes. In lectures, students can more easily focus on subject matter that is often difficult to understand. A counter viewpoint argues that required attendance is not necessary and that student engagement is more important than physical classroom attendance. This viewpoint notes that recent technologies support active learning strategies that better engage student participation, fostering independent learning that is not supported in the traditional large lecture classroom and argues that dental education requires assimilation of complex concepts and applying them to patient care, which passing a test does not ensure. The two positions agree that attendance docs not guarantee learning and that, with the surge of information technologies, it is more important than ever to teach students how to learn. At this time, research does not show conclusively if attendance in any type of setting equals improved learning or ability to apply knowledge.
AB - This Point/Counterpoint discusses the long-argued debate over whether lecture attendance in dental school at the predoctoral level should be required. Current educational practice relies heavily on the delivery of content in a traditional lecture style. Viewpoint I asserts that attendance should be required for many reasons, including the positive impact that direct contact of students with faculty members and with each other has on learning outcomes. In lectures, students can more easily focus on subject matter that is often difficult to understand. A counter viewpoint argues that required attendance is not necessary and that student engagement is more important than physical classroom attendance. This viewpoint notes that recent technologies support active learning strategies that better engage student participation, fostering independent learning that is not supported in the traditional large lecture classroom and argues that dental education requires assimilation of complex concepts and applying them to patient care, which passing a test does not ensure. The two positions agree that attendance docs not guarantee learning and that, with the surge of information technologies, it is more important than ever to teach students how to learn. At this time, research does not show conclusively if attendance in any type of setting equals improved learning or ability to apply knowledge.
KW - Active learning
KW - Computer-assisted instruction
KW - Dental education
KW - Educational measurement
KW - Educational technology
KW - Lecture
KW - Teaching method
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M3 - Article
C2 - 27934674
AN - SCOPUS:85016432353
SN - 0022-0337
VL - 80
SP - 1474
EP - 1478
JO - Journal of dental education
JF - Journal of dental education
IS - 12
ER -