Can performance on summative evaluation of wax-added dental anatomy projects be better predicted from the combination of supervised and unsupervised practice than from supervised practice alone?
OBJECTIVE
The study explored the effects of adding student-directed projects in pre-clinical dental anatomy laboratory on improving the predictability of students' eventual performance on summative evaluation exercises, given the presence of intervening faculty-controlled, in-class practice.


METHODS
All students from four consecutive classes (n = 555) completed wax-added home projects (HP), spending as much or as little time as desired and receiving no faculty feedback; followed by similar laboratory projects (LP) with time limits and feedback; and then summative practical projects (PP) in a timed format but without faculty feedback. Path analysis was used to assess if the student-directed HP had any effect over and above the laboratory projects.


RESULTS
Average scores were HP = 0.785 (SD = 0.089); LP = 0.736 (SD = 0.092); and PP = 0.743 (SD = 0.108). Path analysis was applied to show the effects of including a student-controlled home practice exercise on summative exercise performance. HP contributed 57% direct effect and 37% mediated effect through the LP condition.


CONCLUSIONS
Student-directed home practice provided a measureable improvement in ability to predict eventual performance in summative test cases over and above the predictive contribution of intervening faculty-controlled practice conditions.
Department of Integrated Reconstructive Dental Sciences, University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco, CA, USA. gradjaeipour@pacific.edu.
G
G
Radjaeipour
Department of Dental Practice, University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco, CA, USA.
D W
DW
Chambers
Department of Integrated Reconstructive Dental Sciences, University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco, CA, USA.
M
M
Geissberger
D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D005179:Faculty, Dental; D005260:Female; D000068156:Formative Feedback; D006801:Humans; D007754:Laboratories, Dental; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D013335:Students, Dental; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014885:Waxes
D014885:Waxes
dental anatomy; path analysis; predicting learning; skill learning; technique laboratory practice