An instructional resource center in a senior dental clinic

This paper describes the development of an instructional materials resource center designed specifically for senior dental students. The resource center is located on the clinic floor near the students' operatories. Development of the resource center began with a needs assessment involving 60 dental students and faculty from the General Practice Department. A pilot series of six slide-tape programs, developed to determine the best format for subsequent materials, was field-tested with senior dental students. The students exceeded the field test minimum competency level of 80 percent on each of the pilot programs. Students using a self-instructional format outperformed students who received a version without standard self-instructional elements on five of six tests; the differences were statistically significant on three tests. Cost-effective production techniques have reduced the development cost of subsequent programs to below a hundred dollars per program. Twenty programs were completed in the 1981-82 academic year.