Students’ Views on the Usefulness of a Dental Materials Reader

During the last two years students at the University of Stellenbosch had access to a dental materials reader compiled from appropriate research and review articles. The motivation behind these readers was to provide the students with: 1) Evidence-based literature on the dental materials policy followed at the dental school; 2) additional information on more recent developments not available in dental materials handbooks; and 3) information covering controversial opinions concerning the selection and use of dental materials. As feedback from 2002 indicated that most of the students found the readings to be too much and thus more confusing than helpful, an attempt was made to scaffold their reading through self study questions that refer them to specific appropriate sections in the reader. The students thus had the choice whether to read the whole article or only the appropriate sections. As the learning outcomes expected from the students to provide evidence of their reading during tests/ exams or during class discussions they needed to make structured summaries of these must-read sections. Objective: The aim of this evaluation was to explore students' opinions on the usefulness of a dental materials reader, specifically whether reading guidance will change the 2003-view to be different from the 2002-view. Methods: A similar open-ended question as the 2002-question was submitted to students of the 2003-year group inviting their written feedback on the reading that they need to do for the course. Results: Content analysis of the written feedback indicated that the students' opinions on the readers have changed dramatically. In 2002 sixty-three percent of the quotations mentioned drawbacks and 37% benefits. In 2003, however, only 18% of the quotations mentioned drawbacks, while 82% mentioned benefits. Conclusion: Reading guidance can alter the way students view academic reading matter.