Dental Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Blended Learning in the COVID-19 and Post-COVID-19 Years: Survey Study

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges but also a unique opportunity, accelerating the evolution of higher education, including dental education. This encouraged dental education to adopt more flexible modes like blended learning.

This study aimed to explore senior undergraduate dental students' views on blended learning during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify modifiable factors influencing their engagement.

A survey was conducted among final-year undergraduate students at a top-ranking dental school in mainland China during the fall semesters of 2020-2021 and 2023-2024. The survey assessed satisfaction with blended learning, preferences for engagement, strengths compared to purely online or offline teaching, and factors influencing engagement during and after the pandemic.

Response rates were 75% (85/114) in 2020 and 73% (47/64) in 2023. Blended learning was used in 53% (26/49) of evaluated courses. High satisfaction was reported by 82% (93/114) in 2020 and 59% (38/64) in 2023, with significant differences between high- and low-satisfaction groups (P<.001). Satisfaction with specific course types and learning activities was analyzed. Factors associated with higher satisfaction were evaluated using Pearson correlation. Students acknowledged the strengths of blended learning over online- or offline-only formats. In total, 70% (80/114) in 2020 and 61% (39/64) in 2023 expressed a desire to participate in blended dental education. Factors decreasing engagement included unstable technical support (68/114, 60% in 2020 vs 26/64, 41% in 2023), poor online-offline integration (58/114, 51% vs 34/64, 53%), lack of motivation (51/114, 45% vs 24/64, 38%), and insufficient teacher-student interaction (44/114, 39% vs 20/64, 31%). Factors increasing engagement included high-quality learning materials (76/114, 67% vs 43/64, 67%) and improved technical environments (62/114, 54% vs 35/64, 55%).

Final-year dental students were generally satisfied with blended learning and recognized its strengths compared to purely online or offline formats, both during and after the pandemic. More efforts are required to enhance students' potential engagement in blended learning for the future.