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- Title
Pattern of online communication in teaching a blended oral surgery course.
- Authors
Marei, H. F.; Al‐Khalifa, K. S.
- Abstract
Aim To explore the factors that might affect the patterns of interaction amongst dental students that can be found in asynchronous online discussion fora. Subjects and methods It is a qualitative study that involved the participation of 71 dental students (42 male and 29 female) who belong to one academic year. Students were participated in asynchronous online discussion fora as a part of a blended oral surgery course that involved both face-to-face lecture and an online learning environment using the Blackboard learning management system. Qualitative analysis of students' pattern of discussion was performed using Transcript Analysis Tool. Results The total number of postings was 410. Sixty-seven of 71 students participated in the discussion by writing posts, whereas all of the students had accessed all of the postings. A positive correlation between imposing vertical questions and the number of non-referential and referential statements was observed. Regarding horizontal questions, a positive correlation was observed with the number of referential statements, whilst there was a negative correlation with the number of non-referential statements. Conclusion Asynchronous online discussion fora that are integrated as a part of a whole pedagogical practice may provide an opportunity for promoting learning, especially when consideration is given to the structure of problems, timely feedback by tutors and supportive strategies within the discussion threads.
- Subjects
ORAL surgery; ONLINE education; BLENDED learning; DENTAL students; LEARNING Management System; INTERNET forums; DISTANCE education; EDUCATION
- Publication
European Journal of Dental Education, 2016, Vol 20, Issue 4, p213
- ISSN
1396-5883
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/eje.12163