Effect of using the portfolio on the satisfaction and academic achievement of Tabriz Dental School students

Abstract

Portfolio is one of the tools of clinical education and evaluation that has gained a special place in the promotion of clinical skills and developmental and constructive evaluation of medical and dental students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using the portfolio on the satisfaction and academic achievement of students of Tabriz Dental School.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, all seventh semester students who took the practical systemic unit 3 were selected. And was randomly divided into two groups (routine training and portfolio training). In the portfolio group: On the first day of the section, the required information, including the clinical course plan of the practical systemic unit 3 course and the booklet explaining the portfolio method, were provided to the students. In the middle of the semester, as the first report, they handed over the portfolio to their professor for feedback. In this group, students underwent routine clinical training by the professor. On the last day of the section, all the written materials were handed over to the professor in the form of a booklet, which included the title, table of contents, self-evaluation at the end of each article, the rate of goal achievement, list of sources and finally evaluation of the whole course. Students who did not submit the first report of the portfolio were excluded from the study. In the routine group: Clinical training was routinely performed by the professor. At the end of the section, a written-functional test (evaluation) was performed based on the common methods and forms of the faculty from both groups. Also at the end of the section, students' satisfaction was measured based on the satisfaction questionnaire in both conventional and portfolio education groups. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 24. Satisfaction, compatibility and failure of trust in pre-test and post-test were analyzed by analysis of covariance and then paired t-test (comparison of a group in two times) and independent t-test (comparison of two groups).

Results: In this study, 78 seventh semester students who had taken systemic unit 3 practice were examined in two groups of routine and portfolio. The mean score of the practical systemic unit 3 course in the portfolio group (19.92. 0.35) was significantly higher than the routine training group (19.23 98 0.98). The mean score of satisfaction in the portfolio group (16.25 2 2.85) was significantly higher than the routine training group (14.89 60 2.60)

Conclusion: The portfolio has a significant effect on academic achievement and student satisfaction.