A case study on the evaluation of discussion and debate learning effectiveness in a dental hygiene ethics class

Introduction This study introduces the curriculum of a discussion‐based learning class for dental hygiene ethics education and evaluates the educational effect of discussion‐based learning as applied to a dental hygiene ethics class. Materials and methods This study was conducted with 48 sophomores from the Department of Dental Hygiene who took dental hygiene ethics in the second semester of 2019. For the DBL class, the following steps were conducted: (1) a pre‐class group activity (discussion); (2) a group presentation and team discussion; and (3) a discussion among all groups. To improve the ability to aggregate, organise, and prepare the learner's resources, data, information search skills, and opinions by the team and to improve communication skills by actively listening to other people's opinions, the presentation team's opinions were modified after the discussion, and the performance of rational opinions on topics was added. The professor provided feedback and summarised and ended the discussion. The survey was conducted before and after the DBL class. Results Concerning critical thinking ability, critical objectivity increased significantly from 8.88 before to 9.38 after the DBL class, and critical confidence also increased significantly. The change in professional attitude significantly increased from 3.21 out of 5 points before the DBL class to 3.53 after the DBL class in the logical and critical thinking skills category and significantly increased from 3.27 to 3.66 in decision‐making skills. Conclusion Teaching methods applied in DBL classes, not traditional lecture‐style classes, consistent with changing educational paradigms, are very effective and should change gradually. These results will be particularly helpful to faculty members who are inexperienced in DBL courses and performance but interested in them.