Importance of Talk and Chalk Method of Teaching: Dental Students’ view in Preclinical Years

Abstract

Introduction: New teaching techniques are emerging with increasing use of computer and advancement of technology. There is a dilemma in the minds of senior teachers whether to totally abandon traditional method of “talk and chalk” and use power point method for lecture delivery. It is important to know the students’ perception regarding their preference of the teaching method to help them to learn and score better. Methods: The opinion of first year dental students was sought in the classroom after one month of teaching physiology by different teachers using talk and chalk or power point method. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect the opinion of 400 students over the period of 8 years. Results: Majority (95%) students preferred the lecture by conventional “Talk and chalk” method over the power point presentation. About 15% were of the opinion that the teaching should be by conventional lecture by “talk and chalk” but diagrams should be shown by power point slides. Conclusion: The present study shows that for effective learning and teaching the conventional method of talk and chalk lectures should be combined wherever necessary with newer techniques like power point presentations.