Blog #5 – Assessment

Whether a dental hygiene student is in an entry-level associate program or entry-level baccalaureate program the purpose of these programs is to take a student who has no prior dental hygiene education experience and prepare them to become clinical dental hygienist.  For a student to become a clinical dental hygienist that student will graduate from a CODA-accredited dental hygiene school.  There is also a number of tests a student will take and pass to ensure they are competent to begin the practice of dental hygiene to the public.  These include the following: a written National Board Dental Hygiene Examination; a Clinical Regional Board or State Board Examination; a jurisprudence and ethics examination in the state where they desire to get their licensure.  As dental hygiene faculty our job is to educate students so they have the opportunity to be prepared for the examinations prior to licensure and the tools in their hands so they can join the professional workforce prepared with the ability to critically think and engage effectively with the public.

While assessing students to determine if they are grasping the material presented and to determine if they are competent to progress throughout the program, I believe there are key types of assessments that prepare a student for the National Board examination and Regional or State clinical examination and graduating.  Since the National Board Examination is constructed of multiple choice questions and case studies, using assessments of examinations and quizzes would be critical in assessing a student’s knowledge of material with course material.  Quizzes and examinations can be used in three ways.  Chapter 4 in The Nurse Educator’s Guide to Assessing Learning Outcomes by McDonald, discusses ways in which exams and quizzes can be used.  A teacher can use a pre-test to determine what a student knows prior to learning the topic.  Formative assessment, for example in the form of a quiz, is helpful for the teacher to determine if their instructional approach is effective.  A summative exam or quiz is an assessment of students on their comprehension of the learning objectives.  Quizzes and exams can be given in many formats where students use high levels of thinking and/or recall information.

Skill assessments are crucial in assessing competency of students in performing a myriad of skills required to be a dental hygienist.  Skill assessments should happen starting from a student’s first semester to evaluate if a student is competent to progress in a program safely while working on patients.  Skill assessments provide an environment that is similar to a clinical board where a student demonstrates the skill of selecting an appropriate patient for boards through the dental hygiene treatment of the patient in a clinical setting.  When I was a dental hygiene student we had to pass three mock boards in clinic prior to graduation.  This element, I felt, prepared me mentally for taking boards.  It is a much different experience being assessed on a clinical product or demonstrating a skill in front of a teacher as opposed to taking a written test.

Finally, I believe that writing assessments and projects such as a portfolio presentations or case study presentations are ways in which to assess a student’s ability to apply the knowledge that is learned.  In my junior year of dental hygiene school I completed a clinic case presentation.  My senior year I had another case presentation along with writing a paper to be included in the case presentation over a subject of my choice that I learned about working with the particular patient.  My senior year of dental hygiene school also had me completing a digital portfolio.  In this portfolio I demonstrated how I met the core competencies of the program and included documentation of these experiences, papers, projects and reflections. These assessments gave me the opportunity to synthesis the information I was learning to then present the information in my own words.  I was able to reflect upon my education and critically assess classes and projects in the classes that allowed me to meet these core competencies in preparing me to be a clinical dental hygienist.  I have found these exercises to be the most rewarding in my educational experiences and as I continue in my education.

2 thoughts on “Blog #5 – Assessment

  1. Hi Janelle,
    I really enjoyed your blog. I was very interested to hear about your 3 mock clinical board exams. I don’t recall that in my program but sounds like it would be very beneficial for experience in patient selection, detecting, and removal of calculus. That was such a stressor for me… if my patient would qualify. Thank you for the blog.

    • Hi Melissa,
      Thank you for your comments. I thought the same thing when it came to the board exam, being stressed about finding a patient who would qualify. It was nice to do a mock as much for me mentally to prepare and focus on time management and feel more confident in detecting calculus. I struggled with this the most in school.

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