Comparing Cognitive Achievement and Performance of Pulpotomy by Using Multimedia

To compare cognitive achievement and clinical performance by using different computer-assisted multimedia learning environments to teach pulpotomy to undergraduate dental students.
Pulpotomy, a pediatric dentistry pulp treatment, is difficult for students to learn. However to transfer from cognitive knowledge to clinical performance is even harder to do. Multimedia have been used broadly in skill and abstract scientific concept learning. Methods: Four different kinds of multimedia methods; animation, video, PowerPoint presentation and static text, are tested and compared in this project. All multimedia contents were uploaded to a website and available to sixty four second year dental students. (female:male=27:37; Avg Age=26y/o; computer experience: novice 17.5%, intermediate 65%, expert 17.5%) Students are randomly assigned to the four groups. Cognitive measures were assessed with written equivalent-forms, pre- and posttests. To measure clinical skills, all students together performed the pulpotomy treatment on typodont teeth with pulp chamber in the dental undergraduate lab. The whole pulpotomy treatment was devided into 6 procedures, and evaluation scales are from 1 to 5. All data were analyzed using the SPSS at level of significance p=0.05. Results: Overall, the post-test is significant better than pre-test.(p=0.048 Univariate Analysis of Variance Tests) PowerPoint presentation is significantly better than text or video (p=0.02, 0.024; Post Hoc LSD test) In clinical performance, there is no significant different in each procedure by using different multimedia.(p>0.05, Univariate Analysis of Variance Tests) However Animation group has the highest result in clinical performance(Avg=4.6)
The website did help the students in learning pulpotomy. In cognitive achievement, Power point presentation is significant better than text only or video clip. In clinical performance, there is no sigfinicant difference by using different multimedia.