Student Response System in Dental Students’ Education - Using a Student Response System and Peer Discussion to Raise the Awareness of the Importance of Good Professional Communication Skills in Practice Periods

Oct 15, 2026

Student Response System and peer discussion are examined to improve professional communication in large-lecture dental education, using a Design Based Research (DBR) case presentation based on lecturer experiences and student responses from ten annual one-day seminars (2010–2019) at the University of Bergen in “Practice Study” (3 ECTS). The approach highlights factors influencing dental students’ nervousness and tension during practice periods, and suggests that SRS use increases awareness among both supervisors and students while supporting formative assessment, feedback, and active learning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Design Based Research context (phase 3)

Large lecture challenge and Student Response Systems

Discussion

Patient communication skills in practice

Dental anxiety and communication training

Communication in law and ethical guidelines

Krumsvik, R. J., et al. (2020). Student Response System in Dental Students’ Education. Using a Student Response System and Peer Discussion to Raise the Awareness of the Importance of Good Professional Communication Skills in Practice Periods. Designs for Learning, 12(1),94–98. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.16993/dfl.124](https://doi.org/10.16993/dfl.124) | METHOD
Student Response System in Dental Students’ Education. Using a Student Response System and Peer Discussion to Raise the Awareness of the Importance of Good Professional Communication Skills in Practice Periods
Rune Johan Krumsvik, Lise Øen Jones and Kristin S. Klock | | --- | | In large lectures in education of dentists there is often less dialogue and communication between students and the instructors, and several studies have found that traditional lecturing in such lectures is ineffective in promoting student learning. This Design Based Research (DBR) and case presentation focus on how the use of Student Response Technology (SRS) and feedback can improve communication in large lectures in dentist education. The case presentation is based on lecturer’s experiences and student responses from ten annual large lectures from the period 2010-2019 in the course “Practice Study”(3 ECTS) at University of Bergen where dentist students and their supervisors were gathered for an annual one-day seminar. The case presentation shows the importance of recognizing the factors that affect dentist students’nervousness and tension for the practice periods and where the use of SRS seems to contribute to raise the awareness among supervisors and students about such issues. This, and a focus on good communications skills among dentist students and their supervisors seems to be crucial to focus on before their practice period in The Public Dental Health Care. There are also a number of limitations in this case presentation, which will be handled in the further development of this DBR-project. | | Keywords: Dentist students; student response system; communication skills; supervisors; practice periods | Introduction This case presentation is a part of the project “Formative assessment in higher education” where Design Based Research (DBR) is applied to examine educational interventions based on “a series of approaches, with the intent of producing new theories, artifacts, and practices that account for and potentially impact learning and teaching in naturalistic settings” (Barab & Squire 2004, p. 2) . This article builds on the current state of knowledge about formative assessment and Students response technology in lectures and focus especially on phase 3 in DBR which is the “Iterative cycles of testing and refinement of solutions in practice”(Reeves 2006). As a consequence of this, the article only describes the practical teaching method where student involvement and active learning in large lectures is essential. The frames and the context for teaching activities determine much of the premises for how we carry out our teaching activities. For example, what can be realistic to do in small student groups can be completely unrealistic to do in large student classes. Cleveland (2002) and University of Bergen, NO Corresponding author: Rune Johan Krumsvik ([rune.krumsvik@uib.no](rune.krumsvik@uib.no)) Denker (2013) distinguish, therefore, between “small”classrooms (30 or fewer students), “medium” classrooms (40–100 students), “large” classrooms (100–150 students), and “mega classes” (200 students or more) . In medium or large lectures in higher education thereis often less dialogue and communication between students and the instructors, and several studies have found that traditional lecturing in such classes is ineffective in promoting student learning (Deslauriers, Schelew & Wieman, 2011) . Student Response Systems (SRS) (“clickers”) are digital tools that can be used to increase student activity in such large lecture settings. When using “clickers” in this case, students are

FAQs

How does the Student Response System (SRS) support learning in large dental lectures?

Students discuss with peers and then answer subject-related questions during lectures via clickers. Lecturers follow up on responses to provide explanations, supporting formative assessment and active learning.

What evidence does the case presentation use for its DBR approach?

It is based on lecturer experiences and student responses from ten annual large lectures/seminars between 2010 and 2019 in the course “Practice Study” (3 ECTS) at the University of Bergen.

Why are communication skills emphasized during practice periods for dental students?

Practice communication between students, supervisors, and patients is essential for becoming a dentist; dental anxiety is common, and improved communication can reduce stress and anxiety. The paper links these skills to relevant Norwegian legal and ethical frameworks.

Oct 15, 2026

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