The effect of using an audience response system on learning, motivation and information retention in the orthodontic teaching of undergraduate dental students: a cross-over trial

Objective: New methods of teaching and learning are constantly being sought in the adult learning environment. Audience Response Systems (ARS) have been used in many different learning environments, especially in the field of medical education. The objective of this investigation was to ascertain the effect of ARS use in undergraduate teaching in a UK dental school. Design: A cross-over clustered randomized educational trial. Setting: Leeds Dental Institute. Participants: Year 4 undergraduate dental students in orthodontics. Methods: Students at Leeds Dental Institute were taught two different topics within the curriculum to test the use of ARS in a cross-over trial. A questionnaire was delivered to the test (ARS) and control (non-ARS) groups. Results: The response rate to the questionnaires was 89.5% (test group) and 82.9% (control group). The ARS enabled students to perform better as shown by knowledge retention (P=0.013). Students found the seminar more interesting (P=0.013), easier to concentrate (P=0.025) and easier to participate in (P=0.020) when ARS was used. When ARS was used, students were more able to answer questions (P < 0.0001), were more likely to prepare for the seminar (P < 0.0001) and significantly preferred using ARS (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: ARS was found to significantly improve student concentration and participation in small group seminar teaching and significantly improved knowledge retention. ARS may be useful in facilitating orthodontic teaching in the future.