Curriculum mapping of a dental materials science course: a reality check and way forward

BMC Medical Education Lin et al. BMC Medical Education (2023) 23:716 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04717-z Open Access RESEARCH Curriculum mapping of a dental materials science course: a reality check and way forward Galvin Sim Siang Lin1*, Jia Yee Foo1 and Chan Choong Foong2 Abstract Background Dental materials science is an important subject, but research on curriculum mapping in preclinical dental materials science courses is still scarce. The present study aimed to conduct a curriculum mapping in analysing elements and suggesting recommendations for an institutional dental materials science course. Methods Curriculum mapping was conducted for the Year 2 undergraduate dental materials science course (Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme) in a Malaysian dental school. Based on Harden’s framework, the following steps were used to map the curriculum of the institutional dental materials science course: (1) scoping the task; (2) deciding the mapping format; (3) populating the windows, and (4) establishing the links. Two analysts reviewed the curriculum independently. Their respective analyses were compared, and discrepancies were discussed until reaching a consensus. A SWOT analysis was also conducted to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with the curriculum. Results Course learning outcomes, course contents, levels of cognitive and psychomotor competencies, learning opportunities, learning resources, learning locations, assessments, timetable, staff, curriculum management and students’ information were successfully scoped from the institutional dental materials science course. The present curriculum’s strengths included comprehensiveness, alignment with standards, adequate learning opportunities, welldefined assessment methods, and sufficient learning resources. However, the identified weaknesses were repetition in curriculum content, limited emphasis on the psychomotor domain, dependency on a single academic staff, and limited integration of technology. The SWOT analysis highlighted the opportunities for curriculum improvement, such as revising repetitive content, emphasising the psychomotor domain, and incorporating advanced teaching strategies and technology. Conclusions The present dental materials science curriculum demonstrated several strengths with some areas for improvement. The findings suggested the need to revise and optimise the course content to address gaps and enhance student learning outcomes. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are necessary to ensure the curriculum remains aligned with emerging trends and advancements in dental materials science. Keywords Curriculum, Dental education, Dental materials, Pedagogy, Undergraduate *Correspondence: Galvin Sim Siang Lin 1 Department of Dental Materials, Faculty of Dentistry, Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) University, Bedong, Kedah 08100, Malaysia 2 Medical Education and Research Development Unit (MERDU), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Lin et al. BMC Medical Education (2023) 23:716 Background Dental materials science is an important subject in the preclinical years of undergraduate dental curricula that integrates the knowledge of materials science and chemical engineering. Due to its multidisciplinary nature, students may find it challenging to comprehend its fundamental concepts and demonstrate clinical applications of materials science and engineering [1]. Discouragingly, dental materials science is commonly delivered using the didactic method via a series of lectures [2]. The use of such a conventional educational approach not only led to a dearth of application of relevant knowledge, but also reduced students’ enthusiasm and learning effectiveness toward this subject [1, 2]. Moreover, since new biomaterials emerge over time, undergraduate dental curricula must be regularly revised to reflect the ongoing emergence of various dental materials, and to improve delivery methods to enable students to demonstrate clinical applications of the subject. In Malaysia, dental materials science course is primarily delivered in the second year of most undergraduate dental programmes. The Faculty of Dentistry, Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) University Malaysia is one of the oldest private dental institutes in the country that offers a five-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) undergraduate programme. At present, the institution is adopting an outcome-based education model that focuses on the learning outcomes of students. Dental materials science is a core course in the preclinical phase of the BDS programme which is integrated as a part of the restorative dentistry subject, and it is distributed across four modules over the second year of the dental curriculum [3]. Despite being integrated as part of the restorative dentistry subject, the dental materials science course is still introduced as a stand-alone course within the subject, rather than being discipline-based. In view of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency’s recommendation for curriculum review to be carried out every five years to keep abreast with contemporary demands [4], it is a good practice for dental educators to analyse existing curriculum and subsequently identify essential elements that require changes, prior to proposing the changes in the curriculum review [5]. In reviewing and re-designing a curriculum that provides quality education, a series of coherent steps is required [6]. One of the most recognised steps is curriculum mapping. Curriculum mapping is a technique that can be used to identify what is taught, how it is taught, when it is taught, and the assessments used to determine whether the students have attained the desired learning outcomes [7]. A well-crafted curriculum is the culmination of the course materials, learning ob (...truncated)