A logbook for continuous self-assessment during 1 year in paediatric dentistry

Authors:

ABSTRACT

Aim

The present study was designed to investigate whether a logbook helps undergraduate students to develop the ability to
self-reflect and to increase their self-awareness.

Methods

A logbook was introduced to 54 dental students in their fourth year of
education at the beginning of the paediatric dentistry course. The students filled in a questionnaire on learning styles at the start of the
course and after 12 months.

Results

The results showed that at the end of the course significantly fewer students wished to be given
detailed instructions to solve problems. Significantly more students felt able to expose both their weaknesses and strengths in clinical
competence in the presence of their teachers. Students who reported a good knowledge of their own clinical skills found feedback from
instructors more constructive compared with those who reported less good knowledge.

Conclusion

For a large group of students,
the logbook stimulated self-reflection, learning from personal clinical experience, and an increase in knowledge about their weaknesses
and strengths in clinical competence.

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