The transfer effect of leadup activities

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Operative Dentistry
• Prosthodontics

Background:

• Leadup training using simulated preparations in plastic blocks enhances operative laboratory performance.
• Operative dentistry tasks share similarities with fixed prosthodontic preparations.
• Hypothesis: Operative-like leadup training may improve performance in both operative and fixed prosthodontics courses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the transferability of skills from operative-like leadup training to subsequent operative and fixed prosthodontics courses.
• To determine if simulated operative preparations facilitate learning in related dental disciplines.

Main Methods:

• Experimental study comparing students with prior leadup training to a control group.
• Performance assessment nine months after leadup training in operative and fixed prosthodontics courses.
• Blind evaluation of student work by calibrated raters.

Main Results:

• Experimental group significantly outperformed control group on operative preparations similar to leadup training tasks.
• No significant performance difference observed for fixed prosthodontic preparations.
• Transfer of training was specific to the similarity between leadup and criterion tasks.

Conclusions:

• Transfer of training in dental education is highly specific.
• Leadup training must closely simulate the cognitive and motor components of the criterion task for effective skill transfer.
• Implications for curriculum design in dental schools regarding skill acquisition and transfer.