Admissions Variables as Predictors of Performance in Basic Science Coursework

In the Institute of Medicines report Dental Education at the Crossroads, it was suggested that dental schools across the country move toward integrated basic science education for dental and medical students in their curricula. To do so, dental school admission requirements and recommendations must be closely reviewed to ensure that students are adequately prepared for this coursework. The purpose of our study was twofold: 1) to identify student dentists' perceptions of their predental preparation as it relates to course content, and 2) to track student dentists' undergraduate basic science course preparation and relate that to DAT performance, basic science course performance in dental school, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. In the first part of the research, a total of ninety student dentists (forty-five from each class) from the entering classes of 1996 and 1997 were asked to respond to a survey. The survey instrument was distributed to each class of students after each completed the largest basic science class given in their second-year curriculum. The survey investigated the area of undergraduate major, a checklist of courses completed in their undergraduate preparation, the relevance of the undergraduate classes to the block basic science courses, and the strength of requiring or recommending the listed undergraduate courses as a part of admission to dental school. Results of the survey, using frequency analysis, indicate that students felt that the following classes should be required, not recommended, for admission to dental school: Microbiology 70 percent, Biochemistry 54.4 percent, Immunology 57.78 percent, Anatomy 50 percent, Physiology 58.89 percent, and Cell Biology 50 percent. The second part of the research involved anonymously tracking undergraduate basic science preparation of the same students with DAT scores, the grade received in a representative large basic science course, and Part I and Part II National Board performance. Using T-test analysis correlations, results indicate that having completed multiple undergraduate basic science courses (as reported by AADSAS BCP hours) did not significantly (p < .05) enhance student performance in any of these parameters. Based on these results, we conclude that student dentists with undergraduate preparation in science and nonscience majors can successfully negotiate the dental school curriculum, even though the students themselves would increase admission requirements to include more basic science courses than commonly required. Basically, the students' recommendations for required undergraduate basic science courses would replicate the standard basic science coursework found in most dental schools: anatomy, histology, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, and immunology plus the universal foundation course of biology.

Basic science courses are extremely important as a foundation for scaffolding knowledge and then applying it in future courses, clinical situations as well as in a professional career. Anatomical sciences, which include tooth morphology, oral histology, oral embryology, and head and neck anatomy form a core part of the preclinical courses in dental technology programs. In this article, the importance and relevance of anatomical sciences to dental personnel with no direct contact with patients (dental technicians) and limited discipline related contact with patients (dental prosthetists) is highlighted. Some light is shed on the role of anatomical sciences in the pedagogical framework and its significance in the educational process and interprofessional learning of dental technicians and prosthetists using oral biology as an example in the dental curriculum. To conclude, anatomical sciences allow dental technicians and prosthetists to a gain a better insight of how tissues function, leading to a better understanding of diagnosis, comprehensive treatment planning and referrals if needed. Patient communication and satisfaction also increases as a result of this deep understanding of oral tissues. Anatomical sciences bridge the gap between basic science, preclinical, and clinical courses, which leads to a holistic approach in patient management. Finally, treatment outcomes are positively affected due to the appreciation of the macro and micro structure of oral tissues. Anat Sci Educ 10: 395-404. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

Student success in basic medical science courses is typically determined by their individual performance on examinations of various types. Previous research both within and outside medical education has shown that the use of educational assessment activities can increase learning as demonstrated by performance on subsequent examinations, a phenomenon known as the testing effect. Activities primarily designed and used for assessment and evaluation purposes can also be used as teaching opportunities. We developed a method for measuring and evaluating student accomplishment in a preclinical basic science course that incorporates both individual and collaborative efforts, encourages and rewards active participation, does not compromise the reliability of the assessment outcome and is perceived by the students as helpful and valuable. The approach involved a two-part assessment activity composed of an individual examination and a small group examination with each component differentially weighted in determining an overall examination score. We found that the method was successful in encouraging collaborative efforts during the group component and provided valid measures of student grasp of the subject matter. We describe the development and implementation of the method, provide data derived from its use in a preclinical basic science course and discuss factors to be addressed when utilizing this approach to ensure fairness and reliability of the outcome. We include brief summary comments from students regarding their impressions of the value of this method.

The level of exposure of science undergraduate students to primary literature is varied, despite evidence that it is a useful tool to teach factual information and critical thinking skills1. Reading and interpreting primary literature is a skill that is required in many scientific careers and these skills which are developed when analyzing primary literature are transferable to many areas. In an undergraduate Human Anatomy and Physiology course we incorporated weekly discussions and presentations of primary research articles as a tool to accomplish our course goals. These course goals included exploring current research in the physiology of organ systems being studied as well as developing critical thinking on a topic. In our course students were required to read a total of five primary research articles selected by the course instructors. Students were then required to write a brief 100‐word synopsis of each article prior to class. Then each week in class, students took turns in small groups to be responsible for leading a class discussion of the article. Students were responsible for discussing articles five times during the semester and leading the article discussion once during the semester. Students perceptions of the complexity and usefulness of the exercise were surveyed at the beginning and at the end of the semester.We observed that at the start of the semester 50% of students felt confident in presenting and leading a discussion on a primary research article, compared with 67% at the end of the semester. Just 17% expected to enjoy the exercise, whereas at the end of the semester 32% reported having enjoyed it. At the start of the semester 85% of students believed that developing skills in reading primary research literature was important for their future careers. We found the level of understanding of primary literature and quality of discussion to vary greatly between students.In conclusion we propose that the development of skills in reading primary research literature in undergraduate students enrolled in a Human Anatomy and Physiology course are valuable. We found that the students felt that the skills developed during this exercise are useful for their intended future careers and they enjoyed the exercise more than they expected. Our future plans include finding ways to improve upon student satisfaction and enjoyment of the activity.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University

We investigated the study strategies of first and second year medical students and tested the associations between study habits and performances in their basic science courses. Upon completion of every basic science course, students completed a survey ranking the study strategies they utilized throughout each course. Results of a principle component analysis showed that study strategies clustered into one of three study factors: “rote” learning, “constructive” learning, or “review” learning. Each of these study factors comprised related study strategies. Students tended to use “constructive” strategies predominantly, but altered their study habits based on content delivered in specific courses. Trends emerged indicating negative correlations for “rote” learning and course performance whereas there were positive correlations for “constructive” learning and course performance. Courses where “constructive” learning had the greatest effects also tended to have the greatest number of questions that required “constructive” reasoning on the final exam.

The authors explored the extent to which medical schools have established institutional and departmentalized educational objectives, by examining the accreditation databases, institutional self-studies, and site visit reports of 59 schools surveyed by the Liaison Committee on medical Education (LCME) in 1994-1996. In this study, the individual school was the unit of analysis, and the dependent variables were statements--in outcomes' terms--of institutional and departmental learning objectives. Objectives were classified as "robust" when they were expressed as measurable learning outcomes in the domains of knowledge and skills and behaviors. Departmental objectives were assessed separately for core basic science courses and clinical clerkships. A number of independent variables were studied for their association with the elaboration of outcomes-based educational objectives: centralized management of the curriculum, curricular reform, an office of education, an institutionalized faculty development program, problem-based learning, interdisciplinary teaching, systematized assessment of educational outcomes, and structured clinical skills assessment. Of the 59 schools, 15 (25%) had robust institutional objectives that identified items of measurable knowledge, skills, and behavior, while 44 (75%) had modest objectives, usually descriptions of the purpose of the curriculum, global statements about the knowledge and behavior qualities that students should acquire, and the subjects that instructors intended to tech. Schools with well-articulated learning outcomes were more likely to have centralized management of the curriculum, a record of curricular reform, a program of problem-based learning, rich basic science course and clerkship objectives, and structured assessment of students' clinical skills. Well-stated and diverse educational objectives were found for basic science courses in only 13 of the 59 schools (22%). Thirty of the schools (51%) had clerkships with robust learning objectives, more commonly in the generalist specialties of pediatrics, family medicine, and internal medicine. Clerkships with stout objectives more often employed structured assessments of students' clinical skills. Schools that paid attention to the explication of learning objectives were more likely to link specific institutional and departmentalized outcomes with methods of evaluating students, in turn guiding the content and methods of instruction. Schools with vapid objectives attracted 40% more accreditation citations for shortcomings in curricular management, course and clerkship quality, and the evaluation of student achievement, especially in the clinical skills domain. In the future, accreditors should focus more closely on this association.

Introduction: In recent years curriculum reform and integration was done in many medical schools. The integrated curriculum is a popular concept all over the world. In Shiraz medical school, the reform was initiated by stablishing the horizontal basic science integration model and Early Clinical Exposure (ECE) for undergraduate medical education. The purpose of this study was to provide the required data for the program evaluation of this curriculum for undergraduate medical students, using CIPP program evaluation model. Methods: This study is an analytic descriptive and triangulation mixed method study which was carried out in Shiraz Medical School in 2012, based on the views of professors of basic sciences courses and first and second year medical students. The study evaluated the quality of the relationship between basic sciences and clinical courses and the method of presenting such courses based on the Context, Input, Process and Product (CIPP) model. The tools for collecting data, both quantitatively and qualitatively, were some questionnaires, content analysis of portfolios, semi- structured interview and brain storming sessions. For quantitative data analysis, SPSS software, version 14, was used. Results:In the context evaluation by modified DREEM questionnaire, 77.75%of the students believed that this educational system encourages them to actively participate in classes. Course schedule and atmosphere of class were reported suitable by 87.81% and 83.86% of students. In input domain that was measured by a researcher made questionnaire, the facilities for education were acceptable except for shortage of cadavers. In process evaluation, the quality of integrated modules presentation and Early Clinical Exposure (ECE) was good from the students’ viewpoint. In product evaluation, students’ brain storming, students’ portfolio and semi-structured interview with faculties were done, showing some positive aspects of integration and some areas that need improvement. Conclusion: The main advantage of assessing an educational program based on CIPP evaluation model is that the context, input, process and product of the program are viewed and evaluated systematically. This will help the educational authorities to make proper decisions based on the weaknesses and strengths of the program on its continuation, cessation and revision. Based on the results of this study, the integrated basic sciences course for undergraduate medical students in Shiraz Medical School is at a desirable level. However, attempts to improve or reform some sections and continual evaluation of the program and its accreditation seem to be necessary.

This book is the outgrowth of the<i>Basic Science Course in Orthoptics</i>, originated by the American Orthoptic Council in 1953, and later expanded to include general ophthalmic assistants. This course has been given at the University of Iowa (where the three editors reside) for 18 years. Of the 34 contributors, 18 are MDs. Except for the chapters on visual optics by Paul Boeder and on genetics by G. Frank Judisch, this book is a practical manual for the ophthalmic paramedic with much of the material in outline form. Strabismus and orthoptics take up less than one third of the book. The numerous illustrations include most ophthalmic instruments. Fifty-seven pages are devoted to basic science, 45 pages to glaucoma, external diseases, and strabismus in systemic diseases, and 21 pages to discussion of the pupil, nystagmus, and dyslexia. This book would seem to be a faithful record of<i>The Basic Science Course</i>

— New medical graduates were recruited during their internship programme biochemistry in their 'traditional' basic science course. It f r o m 10 teaching hospital s for a cross - sectional study, carried out in Riyadh area, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . A total of 200 participants were included in the study. All the p articipants filled out the study questionnaire . The questionnaire contained 10 basic B iochemistry questions that the graduates were supposed to recall answers for those questions from their prior knowledge . Other information included were gender, medical s chool attended, year of graduation, training hospital, whether preparing for board examination such as USMLE and PLAB. R esults revealed that out of the 200 participants recruited for this study , 124 were males and 76 were females. 26% of the participants g raduated from medical schools adopting PBL curriculum whereas 74% were from traditional medical schools. Less than

Our institution underwent a curricular revision to change the course approach for introductory anatomy and physiology courses from separate, discipline-specific human anatomy and human physiology courses to an integrated A&amp;P I and A&amp;P II course approach. Through a mixed-methods exploratory study, this research sought to determine undergraduate student perceptions of anatomy through this curricular revision. Data was collected through word associations, open-ended surveys, and course evaluation data. Our results indicate that undergraduate student perceptions of anatomy changed between the first course and the second course in the sequence, rather than between course approaches. Students in both course approaches reported similar interests, confusions, and difficulties related to anatomy education, and an awareness of the explicit and implicit curriculum was evident in student responses. However, some specific evaluation prompts exhibited a significant difference between course approaches. Results from this perception study can guide practitioners to consider the curricular context and unique challenges of anatomy and physiology students in meeting the expectations of the health care field.

State University of New York Upstate Medical University College of Medicine

Robust evidence supports student‐centered learning, particularly in science courses. In a “flipped” classroom model, “traditional lecture” material is often presented online for students to review in preparation for class sessions. Specifically, videos of a slide set with narration are common. Providing the bulk of the content outside of formal class time creates increased opportunities for student‐centered and active learning during class sessions. While the flipped approach can improve student learning, little data exists regarding the extent to which students engage with online video materials, and whether this engagement corresponds to success in the course. To test the hypothesis that students who watched a greater percentage of video lectures scored higher on chapter quizzes, unit exams, final exam, and in the course, a 300‐level, majors‐only, human physiology course was examined. Three sections, over two academic semesters yielded data for 83 students. All recorded lectures were accessed by students via the online learning management system (Isidore, custom Sakai platform). Most chapters in the course (17/20) utilized a video provider (Warpwire) that provides the percentage of a given video watched by each student during user‐specified time frames. However three chapters utilized YouTube and thus were excluded from data collection. For each chapter, students were assigned to watch the online lecture video(s), read the related textbook chapter, and take an online, open‐book quiz, prior to coming to class. Multiple chapters were assessed via unit exams (n=5) and students also completed a cumulative final exam at the end of the semester. The percentage of each lecture video watched was recorded at three distinct time intervals: pre‐quiz, pre‐exam, and pre‐final. Correspondingly, scores on chapter quizzes, unit exams, and the final exam were also obtained. For some chapters (4/17), there were multiple videos for which viewing percentage was averaged. Average length of recorded videos was 19:30 ± 7:25 (mm:ss; mean ± s.d; range: 8:15–33:20). Overall, the percentage watched at the assigned time (prior to chapter quiz and covering content in class session) was 57.5 ± 31.0%. The percentage watched was significantly increased prior to unit exams (73.6 ± 27.4%; p&lt;0.001) and there was a small, but statistically significant increase prior to the final exam (74.4 ± 27.7%; p=0.012). When the average percentage watched for each unit was compared to the score on the unit exams, there was a modest, but significant correlation (R2=0.16, p&lt;0.001). When the average percentage watched over all chapters, at any point in the semester was compared to the score on the final exam, there was a similar relationship (R2=0.19, p&lt;0.001) that was unchanged if course grade vs final exam grade was the dependent variable. While watching the provided lecture videos is not requisite for success on unit and final exams or in the course, there is evidence to suggest that increased viewing is associated with increased performance in the course. Therefore, instructors should continue to encourage students to watch online lecture videos but must also be aware that some students may be able to successfully acquire the content in other ways (i.e. through textbook alone).

The Master of Science in Oral Health Sciences (OHS) at Boston University Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine is designed for students who wish to improve their academic preparedness for dental school admission. Oral Health Sciences students take some courses, including the first-year Dental Physiology course, alongside dental students at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM). Since students in the OHS program often struggle in the largely lecture-based Dental Physiology course, we developed a case/problem-based and teamwork-focused Applied Physiology course. This course has run parallel to the Dental Physiology course the past two fall semesters. The primary goal of the Applied Physiology course is to provide additional instruction and academic support and to present course material in a team-based learning mode for the OHS students. We hypothesized that this approach to learning physiology would help to improve student mastery of physiology content critical to their future success. The objective of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of the new Applied Physiology course in enhancing OHS students' motivation and academic performance in the Dental Human Physiology course. We are evaluating the benefits of this course by comparing Dental Physiology final grades and individual exam grades between dental students and OHS students from 2018 to 2023. In addition, we are comparing course performance for OHS students from previous class years (2018 to 2022) who did not take the Applied Physiology course against students from the past two academic years who took the course. When we tested whether the difference in means between dental students and OHS students in 2023 was different than between groups prior to 2023, we found that dental students scored 5% higher on average than OHS students before 2023. In 2023, however, dental students only scored 1% higher than OHS students. We also tested whether the pattern of mean scores over time differed between dental and OHS students. Dental student scores remained relatively stable from 2018-2023, while OHS student scores decreased and increased over time. Analysis and comparisons for individual course exams for the dental and OHS students are ongoing. In addition, analysis of a validated survey containing Likert-style questions to quantify how the new course enhances motivation, engagement, and perceived benefits of student learning is underway. Based on feedback from students who took the course in the first year, faculty have modified the in-class sessions in the second year of the course slightly to include more practice exam questions. Our results indicate that additional team and case/problem-based support can improve academic performance for students hoping to gain admission to Dental School. Graduate Medical Sciences at Boston University Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2025 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify how Advanced level Mathematics and Mathematics course units offered at university level do impact on the academic performance of theoretical Computer Science course units. Background: In Sri Lankan state universities, students have been enrolled only from the Physical Science stream to do a degree program in Computer Science. In addition to that, universities have been offering some course units in Mathematics to provide the required mathematical maturity to Computer Science undergraduates. Despite of this it is observed that the failure rates in fundamental theoretical Computer Science course units are much higher than other course units offered in the general degree program every year. Methodology : Academic records comprised of all 459 undergraduates from three consecutive batches admitted to the degree program in Computer Science from a university were considered for this study. Contribution: This study helps academics in identifying suitable curricula for Mathematics course units to improve students’ performance in theoretical Computer Science courses. Findings: Advanced level Mathematics does not have any significant effect on the academic performance of theoretical Computer Science course units. Even though all Mathematics course units offered were significantly correlated with academic performance of every theoretical Computer Science course unit, only the Discrete Mathematics course unit highly impacted on the academic performance of all three theoretical Computer Science course units. Further this study indicates that the academic performance of female undergraduates is better than males in all theoretical Computer Science and Mathematics course units. Future Research: Identifying other critical success factors contributing to the students’ academic performance of the theoretical Computer Science through empirical studies