Piloting of "blended learning" - An innovative educational intervention in oral medicine and radiology

Context: Various universities have set in a wave of adapting to the newer concepts of teaching-learning to keep pace with the millennial learners. Blended learning is a new teaching-learning method that combines online activity along with face-to-face activity. Flipped classroom approach is the use of Web-enabled strategies that free up class time to allow teachers to spend more time guiding their students. Aim: To assess the impact of flipped classroom approach on the teaching-learning outcomes of dental undergraduates. Settings and Design: A prospective comparative educational intervention was conducted in the Oral Medicine and Radiology department of a private dental college in Belagavi. Methods and Materials: Forty third-year undergraduates were equally allocated into the traditional learning group (20) and flipped classroom learning group (20). A pretest/posttest format was employed with mandatory feedback. For flipped classroom approach, an audio/video lecture of 10 minutes duration was shared through learning management software. The assessment was MCQs and case-based. Statistical Analysis: Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon matched-pairs tests were used for intergroup and intragroup comparisons, respectively. Results: The mean posttest score was significantly higher in flipped classroom method than in the traditional method (P = 0.0001). Performance on case-based questions was highly statistically significant in the flipped classroom group with a mean rank of 29.8 (P < 0.001). Intragroup comparison between the mean pretest and posttest scores in the flipped classroom showed a high statistical significance (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: Flipped classroom teaching should be recommended as it has the advantages of providing students with a pace of learning, peer learning, instant feedback, and using classroom time effectively. Faculty have to invest time, but nothing is greater than a meaningful teaching-learning experience.