A nationwide survey of online teaching strategies in dental education in China

Objectives Due to the time and cost effectiveness, online teaching has played a significant role in the provision of education and has been a well-accepted strategy for higher education in the world. The aim of this study was to survey the current online undergraduate education status in dental medicine in mainland China during the critical stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well to provide a better understanding of practicing this learning strategy for the improvement and development of dental education. Methods For the cross-sectional survey, recruitment emails regarding to the implementation of online education were sent to 42 dental colleges and universities in mainland China between March and April 2020. Results Ninety-seven percent of the respondents have opened online courses during COVID-19 pandemic in China, 74% of which chose live broadcast as the major teaching way. As compared with theoretical courses, fewer specialized practical curriculums were set up online with a lower satisfaction from students in most dental schools. For the general evaluation of online learning from students of different dental schools, the "online learning content" received the highest support, while the "interaction between teachers and students" showed the lowest satisfaction. Most schools reported that the difficulty in assurance of students' learning motivation was the main problem in online education. Conclusions Our findings indicate the necessity and efficacy of the overall online teaching for dental education during the epidemic that can be further improved with the education model and pedagogical means to boost the informationization of dental education for future reference.