Speakers: Brenda Armstrong, DHR MDH, and Kimberly Jensen, RDH, MS

Program Track: Educator

Course Description: Dental hygiene education by nature involves experiential learning, but how do we successfully bring active learning into the traditional classroom setting in a way that will engage the students and enhance their learning? Often, a lecture-based course is instructor centered in which students passively listen to the information. In contrast, an instructor using active learning has the goal of engaging students in the learning process by immersing themselves in the construction of knowledge rather than inertly regurgitating information presented. The challenges to incorporating these techniques are an already demanding curriculum, time constraints, and the risk of student rejection. Active learning techniques have been discussed in the research for over a decade, but resistance to implement still exists. This workshop will cover strategies to help you avoid common instructor mistakes, increase student engagement, and improve acceptance of active learning in the traditional classroom. In addition, student responses to various active learning methods will be shared from data collected over two academic years at one dental hygiene program.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common mistakes teachers make when implementing active learning.
• Discover ways teachers can improve student engagement and acceptance of active learning.
• Assemble active learning techniques that can be easily incorporated into a lecture-based course.
• Investigate how students respond to classroom active learning techniques.

CE Credit Hours: 1.0

Original Date of Session: 22 June 2019

The American Dental Hygienists' Association is designated as an approved provider by the American Academy of Dental Hygiene, Inc. #AADHADH (Jan. 1, 2022–Dec. 31, 2022). Approval does not imply acceptance by a state or provincial Board of Dentistry. Licensee should maintain this document in the event of an audit.

The American Dental Hygienists’ Association is an approved provider of dental continuing education as recognized by the Dental Board of California, Provider #5238.