Comparative evaluation of role play and group discussion as teaching-learning method for behavior management in pediatric dentistry

Abstract

Communication, behavioral and attitudinal skills are an integral part of teaching behavior management to dental undergraduate students. Due to the complexity of these skills, clinical teaching through didactic method imparts minimal capacity for adopting deep approach to learning. The implication of role play and group discussion could be an opportunity to facilitate such learning outcome. The objectives of this study were to evaluate and compare the efficacy of role play and group discussion as teaching-learning methods for behavior management in pediatric dentistry. The study was carried out with ninety-two final BDS undergraduate students at Sharad Pawar Dental College & Hospital, INDIA. Tell-Show-Do, non-pharmacological behavior management technique was taught to intervention and control group by role play and group discussion method respectively. To assess knowledge gain, pre-test and post-test was conducted. To evaluate acquisition of communication, behavioral and attitudinal skills, students were made to perform a clinical procedure i.e. placement of pit and fissure sealant in primary molars. Each student was evaluated by direct observation using a check-list. Role play method was found to be highly effective as significant difference was observed in knowledge gain (p=0.020) and acquisition of behavioral and attitudinal skills (p= 0.027) among intervention and control group.