Changing assessment practice through in situ faculty development.

The aim of this article is to describe the process of an in situ staff development process with the objective to influence change in assessment practice. An in situ training course focusing on writing questions for written examinations, but also including some contextual aspects of assessment practice, was therefore developed and implemented. The anticipated change was measured against Kirkpatrick's four levels for evaluating training programmes. As a whole, the reaction from the participants was positive (Kirkpatrick Level 1), and in a number of instances, learning, which includes changes in attitude, knowledge and skills (Kirkpatrick Level 2) and change in behaviour (Kirkpatrick Level 3), was observed. To conclude, the staff development initiative in the form of in situ assessment training facilitated change resulting in an improvement in assessment practice in the School in a relatively short period of time.

Development and implementation of communication skills in dentistry: an example from South Africa.

Dental students should realise early in their careers -- in dental school -- the importance of developing and mastering sound communication skills with patients. As a result, the aim of this study was to develop and implement a course in communication skills for third year dental students. The methodology employed in the study comprised the following three phases: Phase I: identification of specific outcomes essential for the dentist to be competitive in the emerging South African dental environment. Phase II: development of an outcome-based course according to the South African Qualifications Authority format (Purpose, Embedded knowledge, Assessment criteria). Phase III: implementation of the course. Implementation of the course involved a pre- and post-training cycle. The subjects were 67 third year dental students. The following instruments were employed: a study guide; a case study; an assessment rubric; two questionnaires, namely "Patient's" feedback and "Dentist's" feedback; a standardised patient. The results were as follows: the class as a whole scored significantly higher during training cycle 2 compared with training cycle 1 (P < 0.0001). The important roles of trust, empathy and active listening in establishing a meaningful relationship with a patient, which was conveyed by means of the course, were emphasised by the majority of students.

Vertical and horizontal integration of knowledge and skills - a working model.

The new integrated outcomes-based curriculum for dentistry was introduced at the University of Pretoria in 1997. The first participants graduated at the end of 2001. Educational principles that underpin the new innovative dental curriculum include vertical and horizontal integration, problem-oriented learning, student-centred learning, a holistic attitude to patient care and the promotion of oral health. The aim of this research project was to develop and assay a model to facilitate vertical integration of knowledge and skills thereby justifying the above mentioned action. The learning methodology proposed for the specific outcome of the Odontology module, namely the diagnosis of dental caries and the design of a primary preventive programme, included problem-solving as the driving force for the facilitation of vertical and horizontal integration, and an instructional design for the integration of the basic knowledge and clinical skills into a single learning programme. The paper describes the methodology of problem-oriented learning as applied in this study together with the detail of the programme. The consensus of those teachers who represent the basic and clinical sciences and who participate in this learning programme is that this model is practical and can assist vertical as well as horizontal integration of knowledge.

The new Pretoria curriculum.

Macro-environmental changes in tertiary education have prompted a review of dental curricula in order to address shortcomings in the traditional curriculum. This paper defines the philosophical principles that highlight concepts in the new innovative curriculum. The stance adopted in the development of the macro- as well as the micro-curriculum is described.

A new approach to undergraduate dental education.

As a result of a growing awareness that the traditional undergraduate curriculum for dental students was overloaded with facts to the detriment of producing dentists skilled in problem-solving and critical thinking, the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Pretoria was prompted to review the curriculum, teaching methodology and the evaluation of students performance. After much deliberation and planning, it was decided to construct a new curriculum which could support problem-oriented learning, with all its many advantages. The themes of this new curriculum are derived from an analysis of the so-called "clinical reasoning process" and its relationship to the spectrum of relevant diseases. Finally, an example of a clinical problem, which the dental students are expected to solve, is described to illustrate how the educational and training needs are determined.

Bruxism threshold: an explanation for successful treatment of the multifactorial aetiology of bruxism.

Many authors claim successful treatment of bruxism by various treatment modalities. This paper presents a review of the nature of bruxism, the multifactorial aetiology of bruxism and a discussion of successful treatment of bruxism by various treatment modalities. The aim of this paper is to provide an explanation for successful treatment of bruxism on the basis of decreasing or eliminating any one or more of the aetiological stimuli to a combined level below the bruxism threshold.

[Use of model answers in evaluating reliability of written tests]. / Die invloed van'n vraestelmemorandum op evalueerderbetroubaarheid tydens skriftelike evaluering.

The use of model answers (memoranda) for the evaluation at tertiary level of written test or examination papers generally is not considered important. Model answers, however, set standardized criteria according to which they can be evaluated. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the use of a model answer on rater reliability during the evaluation of written test papers in Community Dentistry. Fifteen official written test papers were randomly selected. The papers were photocopied and handed to four evaluators namely, the author of the question paper and model answer, an educational expert (calibrated non-dentist) who was given a model answer and two subject experts (specialist and registrar) of whom one was given a model answer and was calibrated. The marks of each evaluator were correlated with those of the author of the question paper by means of Spearman's reliability co-efficient. Based on the marks allocated, interrater reliability between the lecturer and calibrated evaluators using a model answer ranged between 0.65 and 0.86 and the evaluations done without a memorandum or calibration gave a r-value of 0.59 (p less than 0.02). Although the quality of the memorandum is an important consideration, this study shows that the use of a model answer and calibration results in a distinct improvement in rater reliability.

[Comparison of knowledge of subject content with the written text objectives in final year of dental course]. / 'n Vergelyking van die kognitiewe leervlakke van die leerinhoud met die van skriftelike vraestelle van 'n finalejaar tandheelkundige kursus.

To ensure validity of student assessment, there should be a positive relationship between the profile of the study content, and the profile of the learning objectives to be tested. This study has indicated that, in the 8 subjects which were analyzed, this relationship varied from a weak positive (r = 0.13), to a strong positive (r = 0.914). It can also be concluded that, depending upon the nature of the subject, 50-70 per cent of questions on the memory level, would be acceptable in a written paper.

[Implementation of matrix functional frame in Dental Faculty of Academic Hospital for tooth and mouth surgery, University of Pretoria]. / Die implementering van 'n matriksfunksioneringstelsel in die Fakulteit Tandheelkunde en Akademiese Hospitaal vir Tand- en Mondheelkunde, Universiteit van Pretoria.

Deficiencies, characteristic of professional bureaucracies, such as poor co-ordination and telescopic vision, were identified in the Oral and Dental Academic Hospital, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Pretoria. Within a hybrid, formed between this professional bureaucracy and the Department of Health Services and Welfare, lies the potential for conflict, created by the difference in mission statements of the two systems, the deficiencies of which are clearly manifested. In an effort to address the problem, an organisational structure has been developed which could function as a matrix, thereby facilitating management through optimal communication and decisions by consensus.