Flight Path
My involvement in dental hygiene education in Ontario for the past 23 years has been very exciting and rewarding. My current role is Clinical Coordinator, Research Representative for Health Sciences and Faculty member. My teaching experience is in the areas of Clinical Practice, Ethics, Professionalism and Dental Materials. I also work with the Commission of Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) as a survey team member, the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO) and previously the National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination Board as an examination item writer and reviewer. Recently, I was elected as the Education Representative for college council for the College of Dental Hygienist of Ontario.
I thought it would be helpful to provide an overview of the role of the dental hygienist as part of the healthcare team. The dental hygienist has interrelated roles of clinician, educator, administrator, advocate and researcher. The focus of dental hygiene education is to prevent oral disease and promote overall health. Dental Hygienists educate the public in maintaining oral wellness that will contribute to the quality of life. There is a strong connection between oral health and overall health due to the systemic link between oral disease and systemic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and lung disease. Approximately 90 per cent of the worldwide population is affect by gum disease – either gingivitis or periodontitis.(MacDougall, Cobban & Compton, 2011)
The program that I am currently teaching in has definitely made the pedagogical shift from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning. However, there is considerable development required in the area of providing learning in a technology-enriched context. My perspective is from a health sciences context and perhaps other faculties within the college are more advanced in delivering curriculum using technology. Classrooms within the department of Health Sciences are all SMART rooms and there is wireless internet throughout the campus.
One of the strategic goals at our college in the School of Health Sciences is Interprofessional Education (IPE) and Collaborative Learning/Care. The integration of technology in the clinical learning environment is through simulation technology, this could be role playing with a simulated client, or through technology such as the SimMan or a typo-dont that simulates the oral cavity. In the classroom setting there are demands to integrate collaborative learning activities encouraging active learning, principle three of the “Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education” (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). PowerPoint presentation, instructional video and YouTube clips are common classroom practices within our program, these methods of technology are fairly easy to implement into the delivery of curriculum and can be self taught by the faculty member. After reading the article NETS for Teachers, 2008 I am confident that I meet most of the standards, however, there is definitely room for growth in the areas under standard three and four, Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, and Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility.
In my previous MET courses I have been researching the use of weblogs/blogging and how to implement them into the clinical aspect of our program to promote reflective practice. Through my research I have concluded that blogging (weblogs) implemented as a learning activity will create a viable “learning space” that will engage learners to participate in reflective discussion, develop critical thinking skills and an opportunity to develop self-evaluation skills. Reflection is the foundation of purposeful learning. The starting place to reflection is to examine one’s experience rather than just living it. When we develop the ability to explore and be curious about our own experiences and actions we create the opportunities for purposeful learning (Amulya, 2004).
Reflective practice is emerging as a vital component of clinical practice in health care professions. Regulatory bodies, professional associations, colleges and universities, and health care institutions all have a stake in developing the competence of healthcare professionals (Kaufman, Portney & Jette, 1997). Having the ability and opportunity to reflect on client care experiences is a necessary skill; for a student to acquire this skill, reflective skills need to be taught and developed within the curriculum.
My goals for this course as I continue my learning journey are to learn how to implement weblog technology and the theoretical framework to facilitate active learning using a Learning Management System, such as Moodle. In addition, gain knowledge to develop and build a Moodle platform that I can utilize to deliver an entire course. I would also like to broaden my understanding of digital citizenship. Once I have accomplished these goals I will be well prepared to begin my pilot project as a component of my research in implementing blogging as an e-tool to promote reflective practice in dental hygiene education. Secondary goals within my flight path are to obtain a better understanding of the use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter and how it will plug in to my LMS. The resources that I will require to assist me in obtaining my goals will be the people in this learning community, the support of my department, new software, articles such as those published by Bates and Poole (2003), Chickering and Gamson (1987), and on-line resources.
References
Amulya, J. (2004). What is Reflective Practice? Center for Reflective Community Practice http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/whatisreflectivepractice.pdf
Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7. http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm
Chickering, A.W. & Ehrmann, S.C. (1996). Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples.htm
Bates A. W. & Poole, G. (2003).A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In A.W. Bates & G. Poole, Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education (pp. 75-108). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 4.
Kaufman, R., Portney, L. & Jette, D. (1997). Clinical performance of physical therapy students in traditional and problem based curricula. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 11(1), 26-31.
MacDougall, A., Cobban, S., & Compton, S. (2011) Is periondontal disease related to adverse pregnancy outcomes? A scoping review. Canadian Journal of Dental Hygiene, 45(1), 53-60.