Special care dentistry education during the COVID-19 pandemic: The impact of online peer-assisted learning.

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the impact and students' perceptions of online peer-assisted learning (OPL), developed as an alternative and innovative approach to Special Care Dentistry (SCD) training during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online peer-assisted learning (OPL) is an alternative pedagogical approach that combines online education and peer-assisted teaching. The OPL session was conducted by two postgraduate students in SCD (as teachers), to final year undergraduate dental students (as learners) (n=90), supervised by two specialists in SCD-related areas (as supervisors). Vetted online pre- and post-intervention quizzes were conducted before and after the session, respectively, followed by an online validated feedback survey of the students' learning experiences. Meanwhile, a reflective session was conducted between the postgraduate students and supervisors to explore their perceptions of OPL. Quantitative data was analyzed via paired t-test (significance level, P<.05). Qualitative data was analyzed via thematic analysis. Overall, 68 (response rate=75.6%) and 81 (response rate=90.0%) undergraduate students completed the quiz and feedback survey, respectively. There was a significant difference in total mean scores, and mean scores of 7 (out of 10) individual items on the quizzes. Most students offered positive reviews of multiple aspects of OPL. They acknowledged the benefit of OPL for its content and preparation process, technology utilized, and experts' roles. Postgraduate students perceived that OPL encourages knowledge-recall and utilization of technology-based educational tools, while improving their teaching skills. Students provided positive responses toward the implementation of OPL as an innovative approach to the teaching and learning of SCD during the COVID-19 pandemic.