Blended learning as an adjunct to tutor-led seminars in undergraduate orthodontics: a randomised controlled trial

Aims To describe the use of blended learning as a method of undergraduate orthodontic teaching delivery and to assess its effectiveness in terms of knowledge gain.Design Randomised controlled trial.Setting Queen Mary University of London.Materials and methods Seventy dental undergraduate students in their fifth year were randomly allocated to receive orthodontic seminar-based teaching either using a blended approach based on an e-learning resource or with no prior teaching. All students were asked to complete tests both before (T0) and after (T1) the study period.Results The mean post-test score in the intervention group was 98.3% (a 19% improvement on baseline), while the mean score in the control group was 97.2% with intra-group improvements being statistically significant in both groups (P <0.001). However, no significant difference in terms of improvement in knowledge was found between the two groups (P = 0.36). In terms of satisfaction, 82% of the blended group and 74% in the control group rated the teaching as 'very good'.Conclusions An undergraduate orthodontic-oral surgery e-learning adjunct to traditional teaching was successfully developed. Blending and traditional seminar teaching appear to be equally effective in terms of short-term knowledge gain, with high levels of learner satisfaction common to both approaches.