Effect of Lecture Attendance and Prerequisite Academic Outcomes on Dental Students' Oral Pathology Performance

Abstract

Decreased lecture attendance in undergraduate and health science professions education has been noted throughout the world. The limited study of the effect of lecture attendance on dental students' performance has yielded mixed results, with some studies finding a positive effect and others reporting no association. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of lecture attendance on dental students' final grades in an oral pathology course at one U.S. dental school. Due to a curriculum change, second- and third-year students (N=233) were concurrently enrolled in the spring 2016 oral pathology (OP) course. Students' course grades were compared to attendance percentage (Att), grades in prerequisite basic science (PBS) courses, and Academic Average and Total Science (TS) scores on the Dental Admission Test. The results showed that both Att (p=0.011) and TS score (p<0.001) were significant predictors of OP grade, while race, gender, and age were not. Students' grades in OP were moderately to strongly correlated with their grades in all PBS courses (p<0.001). These results suggest that lecture attendance in OP should be encouraged but viewed in light of the finding that it was not as strongly correlated as PBS course performance and was a weaker predictor than TS score. Students with lower TS scores and PBS course grades should be encouraged to use additional supports such as tutoring to improve their performance in OP.

Keywords: basic sciences; biologic sciences; dental education; educational methodology; lecture attendance; oral pathology.