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Curriculum Restructuring at a North American Dental School: Rationale for Change
Author(s) -
Crawford John M.,
Adami Guy,
Johnson Bradford R.,
Knight G. William,
Knoernschild Kent,
Obrez Ales,
Patston Philip A.,
Punwani Indru,
Zaki A. Moneim,
Licari Frank W.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1930-7837
pISSN - 0022-0337
DOI - 10.1002/j.0022-0337.2007.71.4.tb04305.x
Subject(s) - curriculum , restructuring , dental education , curriculum development , curriculum theory , medical education , medicine , engineering ethics , pedagogy , political science , psychology , engineering , law
The purpose of this article is to discuss how traditional dental school curricula are inconsistent with research in how learners learn. In the last ten years, there has been considerable discussion about the need for dental education reform, and innovative changes have occurred in the curricula of a number of U.S. dental schools. However, efforts in curriculum restructuring have been hindered by the lack of evidence that one specific curriculum design achieves outcomes superior to other designs. Moreover, there has been little discussion in the dental literature about how modern theories of learning can provide a sound rationale for change in dental education. Thus, it is important for those involved in curriculum reform to present the rationale for change based on the best available evidence. In this review, we summarize aspects of research on learning that seem applicable to dental education and outline ways in which curricula might be changed to become more consistent with the evidence.