I’m approaching the end of my educational journey about design. I’ve reached the “testing” step. Here, my prototype, or creation/solution, to my professional problem is tested. To catch you quickly up to speed, I first defined a professional problem. As an educator I noticed my undergraduate students are unable to retain course content. Students are unable to grasp the concepts of dental abnormalities, which therefore influences their dental charting performance during quizzes and exams.
Why are students unable to retain course content? After sessions of brainstorming and critical thinking I realized that students lack the foundational knowledge that these abnormals build upon. To help retrieve and retain basic tooth structure and anatomy, I created an assignment for students to complete. This assignment will ensure students have a firm understanding of these concepts, as dental abnormalities and dental charting stem from them. The assignment will ask students to dive into resources, use their creativity, and consider the important question of “why”.
To test the effectiveness of this assignment I went to those who would use it, my students. I reached out to students who are currently enrolled in this dentistry course and to students who completed the course last spring. I contacted them via email and asked for honest feedback in whatever form(s) they felt most comfortable, including video response, written response, or images of the completed worksheet.
I received feedback in all three forms, and as a result I can improve my prototype. Both groups enjoyed my prototype and felt it was a meaningful assignment. They believed it would solidify their foundational knowledge, helping to benefit their understanding of abnormalities moving forward in the course (and program). All the students said they enjoyed the assignment because they are visual learners and could use their creativity. Some liked the addition of real images, which helped them compare the teeth type. The comment I found most interesting and beneficial was that this worksheet left room for discussion. It was said that this worksheet could be used to ignite small group conversations or class discussions about tooth abnormalities. Since students will have a firm understanding of normal anatomy, snapshots of abnormal tooth structures could be used for discussion purposes and lead into the topic of true dental abnormalities and charting.
Feedback also provided me with suggestions for improvement. Students felt the last two questions were vague. They suggested writing the directions more clearly to eliminate confusion. Some students went so far as to tell me what it is that I should add to each question. A few students mentioned when in the course this prototype should be assigned, differing slightly from my initial idea.
The feedback provided by both groups of students was helpful. Interestingly, the feedback was similar across all students. Time to make some changes to my prototype.
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