Teaching Using Computer-Aided Design to Enhance Student Participation and Satisfaction

Objectives: Objective: The objective of the study was to compare computer-aided design (CAD) versus conventional teaching methods and evaluate student satisfaction outcomes.

Methods: Methods: Two lessons were chosen from the current BDS curriculum for this study; Retained Partial Denture Design (RPD) and Full Denture Set-up (FDS). These lessons were first taught to 4^th year undergraduates (n=74 total) using Conventional teaching methods including; manual technical demonstrations, practicals and lectures (RPD/C and FDS/C). The same lessons were redesigned for use with CAD (3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark). Students were instructed on using CAD, then they digitally scanned models (D900 scanner, 3shape) and used the software to participate in the lesson (RPD/CAD and FDS/CAD).

To evaluate the outcomes a questionnaire was devised with 7 questions covering: learning outcomes, teaching methods, support, use of ICT, participation and interaction, overall usefulness and personal development. The students scored these questions: Poor, Fair, Good or Excellent (1-4). Written qualitative feedback was also taken. The results were double marked and the RPD/C AND FDS/C were subtracted from RPD/CAD and FDS/CAD scores respectively to give the percentage difference per question.
The data for matching questions (Conventional versus CAD lessons) were compared using a t-test (Mann-Whitney Rank Sum Test).
Results: Results: Subtracted scores were 28-47% higher for FDS/CAD versus FSC/C, and 18-39% higher for RPD/CAD versus RPD/C. There was a statistically significant increase in scores for the FDS/CAD over FDS/C for all questions (p< 0.05). The scores were increased in 5 out of 7 questions for RPD/CAD over the RPD/C (p< 0.05).

Conclusions: Conclusions: Introducing CAD for teaching has led to an increase in student satisfation of between 18 and 47% compared with Conventional teaching methods. Use of CAD for teaching gives students a more interactive and engaging experience, and ensures student participation and active learning which are good predictors of student educational gains.