Undergraduate students’ performance and perception of video-recordings versus live demonstrations for teaching orthodontic laboratory procedures: a randomized trial

TL;DR

This study compared live and video demonstrations for teaching orthodontic procedures to undergraduates, finding that live demonstrations improved performance and were preferred by most students.

Contribution

The study provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of live versus video demonstrations in orthodontic education.

Findings

Live demonstration students scored significantly higher in constructing a buccal canine retractor.

Most students preferred live demonstrations and found them helpful for visualizing complex techniques.

Video recordings were seen as a useful supplement but not a replacement for live demonstrations.

Abstract

To compare three methods of delivering an orthodontic laboratory procedure on students’ academic performance; live demonstration, video-recorded demonstration, or both. To assess students’ perceptions and preferences to the demonstration methods employed.

A total of 202 fourth-year undergraduate students were randomly allocated to three groups; live demonstration, video-recorded demonstration, or both. Students were instructed to construct a buccal canine retractor immediately after the demonstration method ended, answer 2 short essay questions about buccal canine retractors to assess their theoretical comprehension, and fill a questionnaire to assess their perception and attitude towards the methods of demonstration.

The mean score for construction of the buccal canine retractor was significantly higher for the live demonstration group compared to the 2 other groups (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the 3 groups in answering the essay questions (P > 0.05). Most students (95.3%) agreed that live demonstrations helped them visualize and understand difficult wire bending techniques, and allowed interaction between students and the lecturer (93.9%). Around 83% agreed that video recordings were a useful aid to live demonstrations but only 11.9% indicated that they could totally replace live demonstrations. More than half of the students preferred a live demonstration compared to watching a video-recording.

The live demonstration group performed better than the video-recorded demonstration group. Most students preferred a live demonstration method of teaching orthodontic wire bending, however the majority indicated that a video-recorded demonstration was a useful aid to a live demonstration.

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