Treatment of Spanish Speaking Dental Patients
The focus of this course is to discuss cultural issues that can act as barriers in the communication with Spanish-speaking patients and to provide students with information on Spanish phonics and dental terminology. After completing this class students should be able to manage emergency patients who only speak Spanish. This course is divided in six modules. The class has online sessions, online forums, limited face to face and group sessions and one on one tutoring sessions and a service-learning experience which utilizes online tools for scheduling, assessment and reflection. Each module includes assignments that are discussed in forms in order to enhance student interaction and community building.
Module 1. Introduction.The initial or introductory module has an overview presentation placed in the content section. Students are asked to view it and to read through the course materials, including the syllabus and the references.
Module 2. Cultural Considerations in the Delivery of Dental Services to the Hispanic/Latino Community. This module explains the basic aspects of cultural competence and cross cultural communication. Audio files and slide presentations are reviewed by the students on independent learning time. Voice over quizzes w are utilized innovatively by helping student develop their listening skills. Instruction includes the use of audio files and transcription as well as video casts.
Module 3. Introduction to Spanish. This module explains the basic aspects of Spanish phonics laying the foundation for further learning and understanding. Audio files and slide presentations are reviewed by the students on independent learning time. Participants describe phonics of vowels and consonants, formation and pronunciation of syllables, formation of words and pronouns. Instruction includes the use of audio files and transcription.
Module 4. Acquisition of Basic Vocabulary for Medical and Dental History. Once the foundation of Spanish phonics has been laid, students are exposed to vocabulary for the patient’s medical and dental history. A web-based session allows the students to adequately review the history of patients in Spanish. Videos model these tasks.
Module 5. Patient Care. In this online session the students review procedures to provide emergency care to Spanish-speaking patients. They review basic questions to determine patients’ problem, dental treatments’ vocabulary and identify possible answers and their meaning. They design their own questions and submit for evaluation. The students also review how to present and obtain the patients informed consent. Students compare and contrast translation vs. interpretation. Instruction includes the use of audio files and transcription. Videos model these tasks.
Module 6. Field experience. Application of Language Skills. A service-learning experience enables students to interact with Spanish-speaking patients and develop their skills while providing culturally competent services. These sessions have the dual mission of partially immersing the students in the language and providing a “hands on”, interactive experience in the patient’s own environment. Students are able to apply their new vocabulary and phrases, review their pronunciation, and Spanish-speaking patient management skills, and apply their listening and problem-solving skills. Scheduling for these experiences as well as required post experience reflection is accomplished on line.
Ana G Gossweiler – faculty
Lorie Shuck, instructional technology consultant
Research has shown that most individuals only learn new languages if highly motivated and that this motivation comes from direct need and context relevance [i,ii]. Immersion experiences targeted to health professionals provide an ideal tool to create opportunities for this motivation to develop [iii].
Many theories have evolved around the question: How do people learn languages? It is generally agreed that there are three different types of learning: implicit learning (a non-conscious, automatic abstraction of structure); explicit learning (where, as in problem solving, the learner searches for information and builds and tests hypotheses), and learning as a result of explicit instruction[iv,v]. Language acquisition is a complex process and that implicit and explicit learning play a significant role. Curricula designed to incorporate learning strategies that foster the interaction of both implicit and explicit knowledge sources has been proposed as most effective when developing language competencies.
This class was developed utilizing the previously described framework, through the support of an IUPUI Jump Start grant, which provided pedagogical and technical support to design and meet sound learning objectives.
The course was designed in 2 phases. During phase 1 the students participate in online didactic sessions that utilize techniques from the behavioral and cognitive schools of language teaching to create a curriculum that allows them to utilize both intrinsic and extrinsic learning. Grammatical and phonetic rules are presented, compared and contrasted. Modeling of pronunciation, sound repetition and application of newly acquired vocabulary is also part of the sessions. On line based independent study and one on one tutoring is utilized. Self, group, and instructors’ assessment of pronunciation, grammar and language comprehension is incorporated in the online section by utilizing audio files.
During phase 2 students participate in a service-learning experience. This expands training into real life venues for application level learning. Adult learning theory emphasizes fostering active learning via identifying learners’ relevant goals, needs, and interests, selecting effective strategies to address these, engaging in self assessment, asking questions and using resources effectively. Through this experience participants practice their newly acquired language skills and develop them alongside their cultural competency skills. In this case the curriculum is taught through the medium of the language. The students’ Spanish skills become the vehicle for content instruction; not the subject of instruction. The Service Learning Protocol for Health Professions Schools was used as the basis to integrate student learning objectives with community service objectives and real community needs.
[i] Joe H. Alcorta. Essential Spanish for Doctors and Nurses. Hermenegildo Pr (Eds.); (2000)[ii]Snow, M.A. (1990). Language immersion: An overview and comparison. In A.M. Padilla, H.H. Fairchild, & C.M. Valadez (Eds.). "Foreign language education:[iii]Genesee, F. (l985). Second language learning through immersion: A review of U.S. programs. "Review of Educational Research" (55), 541-61. [iv]California State Dept. of Education, Bilingual Education Office. (1984). "Studies on immersion education: A collection for United States educators." Los Angeles: California State University. [v]Bialystok, E. (1994). "Representation and Ways of Knowing: Three Issues in Second Language Acquisition." In: N. C. Ellis 1994, 549-657.
This course is divided in six modules. The format of each module includes: Objectives; Assignments; Content (Areas for emphasis and discussion are presented in the section); Resources: Additional resources for students); Discussion (Students post their ideas and thoughts on subject matter in the Forums tool in Oncourse/Sakai)
The initial or introductory module has an overview presentation placed in the content section (please see link http://www.iupui.edu/~bicchec/assets/introMovie/T850-E292%20Introductory%20Movie.htm ). Students are asked to view it and to read through the course materials, including the syllabus and the references. Oncourse tools are integrated into the instruction for each module to assist in reaching the objectives. The class was designed to take advantage of the motivation of the students derived form their own need and stresses context relevance. The class utilizes every available opportunity to recreate an immersion experience targeted to the student’s professional to create opportunities for their motivation to develop. The course recognizes that language acquisition is a complex process and that implicit and explicit learning play a significant role and it is designed to incorporate learning strategies that foster the interaction of both implicit and explicit knowledge sources and the integration of concepts.
As an example, during module 3 a sequenced activity is used to reach the learning objective to explain how to review the medical history of patients in Spanish including aspects related to traditional beliefs and practicesActivity: The activity includes icebreaker, content delivery, discussion and reflection. For icebreaker the discussion forum in oncourse is used; for discussion and reflection, the assignments tool in oncourse is used. Detailed instructions for students are provided.Icebreaker:
Students are asked to answer the following question before they watch the presentations for this module.
Do you use any home remedies for pain?
They are asked to share their answer through a discussion forum
Students are asked to view a powerpoint presentation (voiceover) where they practice their listening skills and obtain the medical history related vocabulary. In this presentation there is a quiz, used as a self-evaluation tool. After students have completed their-self evaluation, they watch a patient/dentist interaction video. After students watch the video they are asked to identify the following:
Determine the patient's chief complaint
Review with the patient the medical history and update the current and history of medication intake
They are also asked to answer the following questions using the assignments tool:
How did cultural values and traditional medical beliefs influence the health choices of this patient?
How would you rate the dentist interaction with the patient, was He “culture friendly”?If not, what could have he done differently?
The visual design and written material was carefully designed to facilitate the understanding of all course components, structure, sequencing, and expectations. An introductory guided presentation is given to students using Captivate. Roles are clearly delineated in the syllabus and through the module’s design. Additional resources are provided in the resource section as well as there is availability of one-on one tutoring to address the content in multiple ways, taking into account student learning styles or abilities and levels.
Course goals/ outcomes are clearly defined in the syllabus and are an integral part of the course structure in the modules and are aligned with the content presented. The course provides a variety of activities to assist students gain critical thinking/judgment and problem-solving skills. Interaction and communication between students, peers, faculty, and content are provided in more than one way and choice range from forum discussion to e-mail messages to traditional and virtual office hours. Multiple assessment strategies, including self assessment, content (formative and summative assessment), reflection and course evaluation is incorporated in the course. Feedback about student performance is frequent and delivered though discussion forum and during limited traditional class sessions and one-on one tutoring. Students are encouraged to develop class materials to bring to their service learning experience and for later use in their practices
We developed the course keeping in mind it needed to be well-organized and easy to navigate. The technology/design consultant in our group worked on the esthetic design so it would enhance both the presentation and the communication of key information throughout the course. All web pages are visually, functionally, and aesthetically consistent to aid in course navigation. Different types of medias were chosen to suit the nature of the content to be communicated. We have addressed Accessibility issues are throughout the course
The course materials contain information about the online and traditional components and requirements for our course. A variety of resources and contact information was clearly presented. Additional support material was developed throughout the semester as needed.
The uniqueness of the class lies in the challenges it poses with progressive exposure to experiences that allow students to utilize all types of learning (based on the previously described learning theories). These experiences range from independent web-based learning, to one on one tutoring, to service-learning and direct use of language skills . They allow students to utilize their newly acquired language skills in a culturally appropriate manner. The use of online technology allows for a unique way to increase participation. It allows students to practice at their own pace. The incorporation of breeze presentations and their quiz functions allows for the assessment of their listening skills and pronunciation skills is also an innovative feature.
| Attachment | Size |
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| Oncourse _ FA08 IN DENT T840.pdf | 491.29 KB |
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