March 29, 2016

Student testimonial: How video helps put a face on critical dental health care issues

Before I started dental school, I knew that it would not be an easy task, yet I was still surprised and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that we needed to learn. In my effort to stay afloat, I resorted to memorizing hard facts and statistical numbers presented in PowerPoint slides, hoping that this would be sufficient to help me pass the constant stream of quizzes and exams.

It was not until I took Dr. Donald Chi’s Dental Public Health Sciences class that I realized I was missing the true purpose of learning for a health care provider. In that class, Dr. Chi utilized video case studies to illustrate scenarios of patients encountering various issues when they try to access dental care. For me, this approach “puts a face on the problem,” which reminded me that we are learning to be care providers; we not only need to know the facts, but ultimately need to use the knowledge in a way to positively impact patients’ health outcomes.

The video case studies were also important in stimulating an active learning process. We analyzed the scenarios in the videos to pinpoint the challenges that the patients faced. Then through group discussions, we came up with potential solutions and researched scientific literatures to evaluate the feasibility of each solution. Through this process, we were actively engaged in our learning, which helped us to become critical thinkers and independent learners.

— Christopher Shyue, School of Dentistry, Class of 2018