Dental Hygiene Students' Clinical Skill Acquisition: Activity theory and the use of videos

Purpose: Entry-level students in dental hygiene programs have already demonstrated a level of academic success; however they often struggle with the acquisition of psychomotor skills. Recognizing that traditional course materials were not addressing the needs of entry level dental hygiene students, instructional videos were produced to demonstrate clinical skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' perception of instructional videos and their impact on the learning environment in regards to students' experiences of skills acquisition.Methods: Online surveys were distributed to all students (n=84) in the fall semesters of 2015 (n=42) and 2016 (n=42). Responses from the surveys were analyzed qualitatively, utilizing an activity theory framework, to identify the impact of instructional videos on the learning environment. The activity theory framework involves the encapsulation of the learning environment that is mediated by tools and situated in a community where a learning activity is carried out to achieve an outcome.Results: Response rates were 76% (n=32) and 69% (n=29), respectively. Student responses concluded that the videos were very or extremely helpful, with 84% (n=27) in 2015 and 79% (n=23) in 2016. Students made comments on the usefulness of the videos and gave suggestions for future improvements. In addition, the comments demonstrated that students found the videos helpful for review purposes and for overall stress reduction associated with the process of psychomotor skill acquisition.Conclusion: Results from this study demonstrate the positive impact instructional videos have on the acquisition of psychomotor skills even within the dynamics of a small class size. Videos can also be utilized as an on-demand review tool that can be accessed before clinical evaluation processes, reducing student stress and providing a level of clarification to support student success.