Effectiveness of Online Faculty Calibration Activities

Area of Science:

• Dental Hygiene Education
• Clinical Skill Calibration
• Faculty Development

Background:

• Effective clinical evaluation requires faculty skill calibration.
• Assessing the efficacy of different calibration modalities is crucial for dental hygiene programs.
• Online learning presents a potential alternative to traditional in-person training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of online instructional videos versus in-person sessions for faculty calibration in dental hygiene.
• To evaluate faculty members' confidence and preparedness after participating in different calibration methods.
• To assess the retention of knowledge and skills gained from online and in-person calibration.

Main Methods:

• A randomized crossover pretest/posttest design was employed.
• Fifteen baccalaureate dental hygiene faculty participated in both online and in-person calibration sessions.
• Knowledge retention was assessed 10 weeks post-intervention using pretest, posttest, and retention tests.

Main Results:

• Online calibration resulted in significantly higher posttest scores compared to in-person sessions (p=0.01).
• Participants reported increased confidence in evaluating student performance with online calibration.
• No significant difference was found in knowledge retention scores between the two modalities (p=0.235).

Conclusions:

• Both online and in-person calibration activities are effective for faculty development, enhancing confidence and preparedness.
• Online instructional videos may be more effective for improving instrumentation calibration skills.
• Further research is needed to explore optimal online calibration strategies for clinical faculty.