Interactive case‐based learning modules for asynchronous dental education

Case-based learning (CBL), with clinical cases and a set of measurable learning outcomes, promotes deep learning and critical thinking in health professional education.1 Traditionally, in a CBL session, an instructor provides the clinical case and facilitates group discussions to meet learning objectives.1 With the growing popularity of online and self-paced learning among medical students, it is necessary to identify alternative ways to conduct CBL in a self-paced manner.2 We have used the H5P3 to create interactive self-paced CBL modules for the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) program and implemented them asynchronously. The DDS curriculum of the school has been renewed to integrate iterative revisiting of foundational topics throughout the years4 and a vertical integration of basic science and clinical knowledge.5 The CBL modules were created for 1st year DDS students to provide an interactive, patient-based, self-paced learning platform to integrate foundational science knowledge with clinical experiences. The CBL modules were named 'Tier-based learning (TBL) modules', highlighting their spiral nature4 and aim towards reinforcing students' understanding across the years. The TBL modules were created as an interactive course presentation,3 a content type in H5P,3 using anonymized authentic patient data. In a TBL module, the students are presented with the patient's chief complaints, encouraging interactive engagement as they independently navigate the slides. This allows them to delve into the patient's medical, dental, and social history, customizing their learning experience to their preferred pace and style. Questions are integrated throughout the slides to stimulate critical thinking and to test students' knowledge of foundational and clinical aspects of the case. The direction of a student's progression through the module is guided by the accuracy of their answers. For a wrong answer, 'Hints,' 'more information,' and 'remediation' are offered to explain the correct answer (Figure 1). At the end of the module, students can review their scores and performance. Four TBL modules were created focusing on Patient History & Health Record, Vital Signs & ASA Classification, Stable and Unstable Coronary Artery Disease, and Tachy and Brady Arrhythmias. The modules were posted in the Learning Management System accompanied by an invitation to participate in a survey. Details of the four modules, sample slides, questions, and student participation are provided in the supporting information (S1-S3). The Research Ethics Board of the University of Alberta has approved this study (ID: Pro00117742). The majority (78%) of the class (n = 25) completed the first three modules, and 68% (n = 22) completed the 4th module. Six students completed the voluntary survey. Most participants strongly agreed that the TBL modules had a positive impact on their learning and helped clarify concepts (Figure 2). Student comments revealed that they appreciated these asynchronous learning modules reinforcing active recall of knowledge, being in a clinical setting, and providing reasoning for why a particular answer was wrong (Table 1). We acknowledge the School of Dentistry Education Research Fund to support this work. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.