title: Experiences of Wiki topic teaching in postgraduate orthodontics: what do the learners think?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Traditionally, the academic content of many 3-year full-time postgraduate courses in orthodontics in the UK has been delivered using tutorial and lecture-based teaching. This is often teacher lead rather than learner centred. Even with the advent of teaching modules on the national virtual learning environment, although well liked by students, is still often teacher lead. An alternative on-line approach to learner-centred teaching is to use Wikis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine postgraduate students in the first term of their full-time 3-year specialist training programme at Bristol Dental School were divided into three groups and wrote a Wiki on three interrelated topics. This process was repeated in the second term using three different, but still interrelated topics. Following each, they were asked to give detailed feedback on their Wiki topic teaching.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results showed that students felt writing the Wikis was useful for team work, provided a more learner-centred approach, created a body of work in a live format that would be useful for revision and was a welcome variation on traditional teaching methods. The biggest problem encountered was the IT platform used to create the Wikis. The students also felt the Wikis should be assessed as a piece of group work rather than as separate individuals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Wiki topic teaching is a useful tool in the teaching of postgraduate orthodontics providing variation and a more learner-centred approach. Further exploration of the available IT platforms is required.
authors.affiliation: School of Oral and Dental Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. tony.ireland@bristol.ac.uk
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ireland
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Atack
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sandy
mesh_terms: D004499:Education, Dental, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D017145:Models, Educational; D009970:Orthodontics / Q000193:education*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012984:Software; D013663:Teaching; D014956:Writing