Preferences of Dental Students towards Teaching Strategies in Two Major Dental Colleges in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

To explore and compare undergraduate dental students’ views and preferences towards various teaching strategies. Methods. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 345 male and female undergraduate dental students from the two major dental schools in Riyadh (College of Dentistry, King Saud University [KSU], and Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy [RCsDP]). Students’ preferences for various components of the lecture courses were investigated. Descriptive and crosstab analyses were used to compare the students’ preferences for each school and between genders; the chi-square test was used to measure the significance level (𝑃 = 0.05). Results.The majority of students preferred having the lecture schedule announced in advance. Females preferred morning lectures, whereas male students preferred afternoon lectures. Nearly half of the students thought that attending lectures should be mandatory; most of them were from KSU. Most of the students reported preferring a PowerPoint presentation lecture. The students, particularly female students, also preferred to receive lecture handouts and study materials before the session and to have practical demonstrations after the lecture. Conclusion. Teachers should consider students’ opinions when constructing courses because this feedback would have a positive impact on the teaching environment and students’ performance.