Attitude and perceptions regarding online teaching in dental undergraduate program during COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed method study

BACKGROUND: Transformation of education to virtual mode during COVID-19 pandemic was a major challenge for a clinical specialty like dentistry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sequential explanatory mixed method was adopted with quantitative dominant design. A self-reported questionnaire on attitude and perceptions toward online learning were distributed among dental undergraduate students. The qualitative arm explored perceptions of online teaching among various stakeholders and thematic content analysis was performed. RESULTS: A total of 141 responses were obtained, about 21% of them felt online classes to be highly useful and 78% felt it was moderately useful. About 80% of the students were satisfied with the online education. About 40% of participants felt internet connectivity was a frequent issue. The qualitative data analysis revealed five emergent themes of lecture content and delivery, instructional control, resource management, interaction, and evaluation exploring the perceptions of various stakeholders toward online learning and provided several insights. CONCLUSION: Though online education cannot be compared to traditional education in a clinical specialty like dentistry, it does have its advantages and a portion of student learning can be conducted through this mode.