Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug 3;22(1):596.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03656-5.

Covid-19: teaching and learning in practical courses under special regulations - a qualitative study of dental students and teachers

Katrin Hertrampf  1 , Hans-Jürgen Wenz  2 , Katja Goetz  3
Affiliations

Covid-19: teaching and learning in practical courses under special regulations - a qualitative study of dental students and teachers

Katrin Hertrampf et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus pandemic led to a lockdown of public life. For universities, this meant suspensions or corresponding adaptations of practical courses. In Germany, Kiel Dental Clinic received special permission to start practical courses under appropriate hygiene conditions. The study aimed at recording the experiences and associated challenges of course implementation under the special regulations from the perspective of students and teachers.

Methods: Qualitative guided interviews were conducted with students and teachers at Kiel in the summer semester 2020. Students (4th, 6th, 8th, 10th semesters) were recruited and lecturers responsible for conducting the practical courses within the dental clinic's four departments. Evaluation was carried out by means of qualitative content analysis, whereby deductive procedures were supplemented by inductive ones.

Results: Thirty-nine students and 19 lecturers took part. The flow of information at the start of the course was welcomed by students and teachers across the board. The lack of or limited adjustment to the scope tended to be assessed positively by students. The majority of both groups suspected there had been no reduction in learning, and learning had been improved due to the smaller group sizes. Regarding the necessary conditions for conducting the course, positive and negative aspects became apparent.

Conclusion: Students and teachers felt very relief to start the practical courses under special conditions although the implementation was very challenging for both groups. The structural and content-related course adaptations required a high degree of flexibility on the part of students and lecturers alike, but also meant that courses were able to be conducted without serious deficits in learning gains.

Keywords: Covid-19; Dental education; Practical course; Qualitative study; Special regulations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Implementation of special regulations in the practical dental courses - Main- and subcategories
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Adaption of the course structure due to specific regulations - Main- and subcategories
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. WHO Situation Report 12. (www.who.int/covid-19/information).
    1. Mahase E. China coronavirus: WHO declares international emergency as death toll exceeds 200. BMJ. 2020;368:m408. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m408. - DOI - PubMed
    1. John-Hopkins-University: Covid 19 map. (www.coronavirus.jhu.eda/data).
    1. Melnick ER, Ioannidis JPA. Should governments continue lockdown to slow the spread of covid-19? BMJ. 2020;369:m1924. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m1924. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chang TY, Hong G, Paganelli C, Phantumvanit P, Chang WJ, Shieh YS, Hsu ML. Innovation of dental education during COVID-19 pandemic. J Dent Sci. 2021;16(1):15–20. doi: 10.1016/j.jds.2020.07.011. - DOI - PMC - PubMed