Faculty Bibliography

Social media, also known as Web 2.0, includes a set of web-based technologies in which users actively share and create content through open collaboration. The current students in dental school are Millennial learners who are comfortable using social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, for both socialization and learning. This article defines and explores the range of Web 2.0 technologies available for use in dental education, addresses their underlying pedagogy, and discusses potential problems and barriers to their implementation.

This article describes the creation of an objective structured teaching examination (OSTE) to assess a dental faculty development program. An OSTE is a performance-based measure that utilizes standardized students and is designed to measure observable teaching skills. In spring 2010, the authors developed, implemented, and evaluated an OSTE to assess a New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) faculty development program, Class ACTS (Advanced Clinical Teaching Scholars). They created a three-station OSTE to measure changes in teaching skills resulting from participation in Class ACTS. Dental student teaching assistants were trained to act as standardized students and patients and to use the rating forms. The faculty members' OSTE scores and ratings increased after participating in the Class ACTS program in all fifteen teaching domains tested, and statistically significant improvements occurred in nine of the fifteen domains. A search of the relevant literature suggests that this is the first time that an OSTE has been used to assess a faculty development program in dental education. This study's results appear to support NYUCD's faculty development efforts to improve the teaching skills of its faculty members.

Dental professionals can play an important role in identifying and referring victims of domestic violence. Since most of the injuries sustained by victims occur in the head and neck region, dentists are uniquely positioned to help address this enormous public health issue. Unfortunately, dentists are the least likely of all health professionals to identify and refer victims of abuse. Much of this failure may be attributed to a lack of knowledge. This article provides an overview of the types and indicators of abuse, information about screening and interviewing victims, and referral resources.

The faculty shortage in dental education has been reported for many years and is expected to increase. Some dental schools have developed 'grow your own' programs that introduce students to academic careers and give them teaching experiences. These programs generally consist of teaching assistant, fellowship, and peer tutoring opportunities. In this study, a nineteen-item survey was sent to fifty-six U.S. dental schools to determine the extent to which such programs were being implemented. Thirty-six out of fifty-six dental schools responded, a response rate of 64 percent. Twenty-five schools or 69 percent of the respondents reported the existence of a formal teaching assistant, fellowship, or peer tutoring program in which students teach in some capacity. The main reasons reported for implementing these programs were to expose students to academia and to address faculty shortages. The respondents reported that positive outcomes for dental student teachers and their students were academic benefits and increased interest in academic life. Among the barriers reported were securing faculty and financial support and problems with scheduling

Community-based dental education offers a variety of positive learning experiences for students while providing needed dental services for the underserved. More dental students are being instructed by a growing body of largely volunteer community-based faculty who practice in a wide range of community settings including community hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, and private practices. These geographically dispersed instructors may have little experience as educators. Their practice styles and their motivation to improve teaching effectiveness are likely to differ from the styles and motivation of school-based faculty members. Moreover, many dental schools have begun to emphasize practices that may be unfamiliar to community-based faculty such as evidence-based practice. Providing faculty development for them is challenging, yet crucial to the success of these programs and dental education in general. Fundamental elements that must be considered for effective community faculty development programming include fostering a culture of respect between school-based and community faculty members, basing programs on the actual needs of these educators, integrating principles of adult learning theory, and establishing ongoing institutional support. This article provides background on this movement, reviews the literature for faculty development programs geared specifically to community-based educators, makes recommendations for development programs for these dental educators, and includes suggestions for future research

Dental educators are often talented practitioners who may have little knowledge of educational concepts and current teaching modalities. Dental schools have recognized the need to offer instruction in teaching skills to their clinical faculty members to support their roles as educators. Since 2005, New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) Office of Professional Development has sponsored the Excellence in Clinical Teaching Program, an introductory program in pedagogy and teaching skills. The Action Learning model was used to drive development and implementation of Class ACTS (Advanced Clinical Teaching Scholars), a new advanced teaching skills program. Action Learning is a collaborative educational approach that has its origins in the business world. The learning is problem-driven and occurs in a supportive and reflective environment. The Action Learning approach culminated in a seminar series, Class ACTS, that offers an in-depth opportunity for faculty members to sustain and improve their teaching skills in a small-group setting. Class ACTS is open to NYUCD faculty members who have successfully completed NYUCD's Excellence in Clinical Teaching Program or a comparable program and have a basic background in pedagogy