Starting in 2018, the Howard Community College (HCC) Dental Hygiene Program developed a creative way to ensure that all full- and part-time faculty and staff would meet the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) requirements for teaching methodologies. Matilda Minassian, M.S., B.S., RDH, Associate Professor of Dental Hygiene at HCC, received a summer grant to develop an educator-focused workshop to offer HCC faculty and other Maryland-based dental hygiene educators the opportunity to receive professional development credits.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous Educators’ Workshops were offered in person at a minimal cost, addressing technology use, program and course mapping, faculty calibration, writing objectives, teaching during a pandemic and accreditation. Approximately, 25 Maryland dental hygiene educators, including student alumni, attend each year. The workshops also teach newly hired clinical instructors and faculty how to instruct and engage students.
In addition to the teaching methodologies, the Educators’ Workshop offers at least two continuing education credit hours that can be used for license renewal. Among the sessions were Cultural Competency in the Dental Hygiene Clinic, Super Cali Halitosis, which addressed chronic halitosis in patients, Alternative Practice Settings and Xerostomia. Workshop presenters are HCC faculty from the health sciences area or other related areas around the college.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person workshop courses transitioned to virtual courses. Educators shared their experiences of how they had transitioned from face-to-face teaching to remote lectures. There were breakout sessions for educators to share ideas on student engagement and talk about the newly incorporated infection control policies and procedures.
In January 2023, the HCC Dental Hygiene Program plans to partner with the Advancement of Community College Teaching Conference to host the event at HCC. Dental hygiene faculty and staff are planning to present professional development and teaching methodologies related to the dental hygiene profession. Once again, the program will invite educators from area dental hygiene schools and offer professional development courses that fulfill the CODA mandates for teaching methodology and encourage time for collaboration and the sharing of ideas between other dental hygiene educators.
Each year, Dr. Minassian and Program Chair Susan Seibel, RDH, M.S., work to develop new ideas that will be appealing to educators to develop skills needed for the dental hygiene profession. In addition, plans for future educator workshops include dental hygiene students who are hoping to one day work in the profession as an educator.
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