Student self‐evaluation in preclinical restorative dentistry

In this study an instrument for assessing student self‐evaluation skills was developed and refined. Using this instrument, the relationship between student self‐evaluation skills and psychomotor skill performance was assessed for freshman dental students in a preclinical restorative dentistry laboratory. While previous research suggests that student self‐evaluation skills are positively correlated with technical skills, the results of this study indicate that students' technical skills, as evidenced by the faculty‐assigned practical grades, did not differentiate students' self‐evaluation skills (p less than .05). In addition, student grades did not differentiate the students' ability to recognize errors. Using this investigative method, no relationship emerged between students' self‐evaluation skills and technical skills. Finally, this self‐evaluation instrument appears to be an excellent way to reveal to faculty those aspects of psychomotor skill development that need to be emphasized.