Abstract
Purpose: Three graduate programs, 35 undergraduate programs and 12 dental hygiene degree completion programs in the United States use varying forms of Distance Learning (DL). Relying heavily on DL leaves an unanswered question: Is learner performance on standard benchmark assessments impacted when using technology as a delivery system? A 10 year, longitudinal examination looked for student performance differences in a Distance Education (DE) dental hygiene program. The purpose of this research was to determine if there was a difference in performance between learners taught in a traditional classroom as compared to their counterparts taking classes through an alternative delivery system.
Methods: A longitudinal, ex post facto design was used. Two hundred and sixty–six subject records were examined. Seventy–seven individuals (29%) were lost through attrition over 10 years. One hundred and eighty–nine records were used as the study sample, 117 individuals were located face–to–face and 72 were at a distance. Independent variables included time and location, while the dependent variables included course grades, grade point average (GPA) and the National Board of Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE). Three research questions were asked: Were there statistically significant differences in learner performance on the National Board of Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE)? Were there statistically significant differences in learner performance when considering GPAs? Did statistically significant differences in performance exist relating to individual course grades? T–tests were used for data analysis in answering the research questions.
Results: From a cumulative perspective, no statistically significant differences were apparent for the NBDHE and GPAs or for individual courses.
Conclusions: Interactive Television (ITV), the synchronous DL system examined, was considered effective for delivering education to learners if similar performance outcomes were the evaluation criteria.
- Distance Education
- Distance Learning
- Outcomes
- Benchmarks
- Dental Hygiene
- Assessment
- Student Performance
- Allied Health
Footnotes
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Jodi L. Olmsted is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point in the College of Professional Studies, Health Sciences Department and was with the first DH program that began offering its entire didactic curriculum to students via distance education. Jodi was the 2008 recipient of the ADHA Irene Newman Professional Development Award. She is the owner, president and distance education consultant for Kaleidoscope Consulting, LLC.
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This study supports the NDHRA priority area, Professional Education and Development: Validate and test measures that evaluate student critical thinking and decision making skills.
- Copyright © 2010 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association
