Early Days of going blended for dental students at James Cook University

Abstract

James Cook University (JCU) has an undergraduate entry Dentistry Course where students are taught with the more traditional face –to – face method using lectures and practicals. Like many universities JCU is moving towards a blended approach to learning, offering a more interactive, self-guided learning experience. The students admitted to dentistry are high achieving, and could be expected to readily engage with online material, however confirmation of this is required to ensure successful engagement and implementation of the blended approach. Aims The aim of this study was to investigate if the dental students currently enrolled in a first year introductory Anatomy and Physiology subject/ unit (n=83) and taught in the traditional method are ready to move towards a blended educational method.