Fostering Differentiated Instruction and Learning in DENT via Construction and Implementation of Online Mini-Modules

Students of all contexts, including dental students, differ in their readiness to learn, interests, styles of learning, and experiences. We adopt Differentiated Instruction, which emphasizes the recognition of individual differences when planning curriculum and instruction, as a guiding philosophy when refining teaching and learning within the Faculty of Dentistry. In this study, we propose to construct and implement two online mini-modules to enact differentiated instruction and learning in dental education. Our proposed online mini-modules are aimed to help:

1. students to develop the following two domains of the six UBC Dentistry Competencies:
   • establishment and maintenance of a healthy oral environment, and
   • rehabilitation of form, function, and aesthetics;
2. students to acquire knowledge within an online self-paced learning environment;
3. students to gain additional face-to-face time with instructors to further improve and/or enhance psychomotor skills;
4. instructors to understand and practice differentiated instruction.

Karen M. Gardner, Oral Health Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry
James Richardson, Faculty of Dentistry
Mark Fogelman, Faculty of Dentistry
HsingChi von Bergmann, Dental Education Research Lab, Faculty of Dentistry