Teaching Out of Classroom: Innovative teaching in dental education by flipped classroom model Erasmus Project

Project Title

Teaching Out of Classroom: Innovative teaching in dental education by flipped classroom model

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Traditional teaching methodologies mostly the lecture style teaching, with power point presentation are being used widely; but have been found ineffective and boring both for the students and teachers. Besides, students are in the state of passive learning, their critical thinking, problem solving and entrepreneurship skills do not improve with this traditional teaching/learning activity. Those adverse outcomes may cause serious consequences especially in health sciences and dental education when teaching goals could not be reached just by providing theoretical knowledge to the students. Research and dental literature grow tremendously day by day, introducing new technologies, methods, materials that require proper hand skills to be applied. However, by traditional teaching teachers could only have the chance to show those techniques, methods and their applications to students by power point presentation that is not acceptable anymore. Students have to possess problem solving and critical thinking skills to select the most appropriate information for the sake of their patients. However, we encounter problems with our students, when they start clinics to treat patients. We observe that most of the students do not rely upon their skills and knowledge, unconfident, could not recognize and select appropriate equipment to be used. Those outcomes inevitably are not related solely with the students but also with teachers/trainers as well. Time has come, even passed to change our teaching methods and adapt innovative teaching methods integrated with information communication technology (ICT) . When searched in the literature and read the policy documents both on higher education and dental education we came up with the idea of preparing this proposal aiming to bring innovation in teaching/training by inclusion of the ICT use, to implement a new pedagogical models enabling students to take the responsibility of their active learning.
In this project we developed “Flipped Classroom Model” (FCM) teaching/training course for teachers/trainers in dental education by exchange of knowledge, experience and good practices. The reason of choosing Flipped Classroom Method is because flipping the class reverses the traditional class setup: students acquire basic content outside of class mostly through videos produced and posted by teachers and then work together on application oriented activities, to improve their hand skills, discuss on the topic for a better and deep understanding. The objectives of this project are to introduce this innovative teaching/training model to dental teachers/trainers, empower the target group to integrate ICT tools into teaching and training and empower students’ (indirect target group) active learning, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, communication skills by implementing FCM in teaching/training.
To reach this objective, 5 universities from Turkey, Belgium, Italy, France and Denmark with key persons all experienced in dental education produced “course syllabus and learning outcomes”, “a teacher’s guide to flipping the classroom” and “videos on flipping the classroom”.
Results were disseminated throughout the project life time, partners prepared their courses by FCM and implemented to their own courses. The results will be promoted even after ending of the project.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 112148 Eur

Project Coordinator

GAZI UNIVERSITESI & Country: TR

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZA
• UNIVERSITE PARIS DIDEROT – PARIS 7
• KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
• VIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE