# Student evaluation of clickers in a dental pathology course

## TL;DR

This study explores how students and teachers perceive the use of clickers in dental pathology classes, finding them useful and motivating for learning.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the effectiveness of clicker technology in dental education from both student and teacher perspectives.

## Key findings

- 80% of students found clickers simple and convenient, and wanted their use extended to other teaching areas.
- Over 70% of students found the clicker method dynamic, participative, and motivating for active learning.
- Significant differences were found between student and teacher perceptions regarding the complexity of examination items.

## Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of satisfaction of students and teachers, and to determine whether the students notice improvements in learning and in the learning environment as a result of the use of clicker.

Descriptive study. Fifty-one students and 8 teachers participated in the use of clicker technology in 8 preclinical seminars in dental pathology. Students and teachers filled a three-domain questionnaire at the end of the preclinical course. We used the Mann-Whitney U-test to compare the results between the two groups.

The domain “perception and expectation” showed the use of clickers to be simple and convenient for 80% of the students, who expressed interest in extending the practice to other teaching areas. In the domain “active learning”, over 70% of the students found the technique to be dynamic, participative and motivating. In the domain “improved learning”, over 70% considered it useful to know their level of knowledge before the seminar and found the contents of the lesson to be clear. Thirty percent considered the items of the examination to be of a complexity similar to that of the first and second tests. Only in this latter aspect were significant differences found between the teachers and students (p=0.001).

Participants described the use of clickers as simple and useful, motivating and participative. Both the students and teachers considered the technique to improve teaching and the learning environment.

Key words:Dental education, audience response system, clickers, classroom response system, student´s perception.