Team based learning: An innovative teaching method in preclinic course of restorative dentistry and its impact on the student's clinical skills, Mashhad dental school

Implementation of innovative methods for promoting learning persistence is of high importance. The aim of this study was to introduce an innovative teaching method in preclinical course of restorative dentistry and to investigate its impact on the students’ clinical skills.
In our study, which was done at the dental School of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, the Team Based Learning (TBL) technique was applied. 48 fourth-year students took part in the course optionally. They were divided into four groups and the stages of TBL were performed. At the end of the course, a questionnaire was administered to the students. After passing the clinical course of restorative dentistry, the mean scores of students who had passed the voluntary preclinical course were compared with those of who did not pass this course. Data was analyzed using T-test.
The results of this study revealed that the mean scores of students who had passed the voluntary preclinical course was higher than that of the students who did not pass the voluntary preclinical course (P=0.02). Moreover, the questionnaire showed that 97% of students were satisfied with this course and believed that it was useful for them.
This study showed that the innovative method of Team Based Learning (TBL) could promoted learning along with students’ satisfaction of dental preclinical courses.