Oral pathology in blended space

A pilot study

Abstract

In traditional dental education the specialty of oral pathology has been predominately didactic and teacher-led in a large group environment. Because of the discipline’s nature, it is difficult to provide authentic clinical cases that will enable critical thinking and decision making due to clinical or patient issues and limited access to physical spaces. To address this issue and to enhance the learning experience within a non-critical environment, a ‘transforming blended’ model (Graham 2006) has been employed within the University of Adelaide’s Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) program. Student evaluation of an oral pathology online clinical and laboratory scenario has been very positive. The approach will be enhanced as a result of this feedback and further enable movement between dependent and independent learning. This poster outlines the scenario methodology, use of authentic activities, assessment and student feedback of the pilot to support a ‘more engineered and deliberate use of technology’ blended learning approach (Oliver, Herrington & Reeves, 2006).