Faculty members in the maxillofacial radiology division of dental diagnostic sciences plan and conduct the week-long workshop to help train other individuals.
Printer Friendly Format

The Office of Continuing Dental Education and the maxillofacial radiology division of the department of dental diagnostic sciences sponsored the Dental Radiology Educator’s Workshop June 13-17. The workshop, created 24 years ago, is held every two years at the Health Science Center and is conducted exclusively by the maxillofacial radiology faculty for the purpose of helping train faculty from other academic institutions.

John Preece, D.D.S., professor in the department of dental diagnostic sciences, played a strong role in coordinating this week-long activity by gathering the workshop’s educational components and faculty responsibilities.

“The workshop provides opportunities for faculty from diverse institutional backgrounds and teaching experience to develop a collegial network with other educators with similar interests,” Dr. Preece said. “It also provides a forum for sharing ideas and strategies for teaching radiology. One of the differences this year was that participants were provided copies of power point presentations, examples of a radiology course syllabi, and laboratory and course manuals that could be used to help faculty prepare their own lectures upon return to their respective institutions.”

Each day consisted of core lectures in radiation physics, radiographic quality assurance, radiation biology and digital imaging, as well as hands-on laboratory activities that reinforced and clarified the understanding of concepts discussed during the core lectures.

“The goal of these workshops is to provide educators with the necessary experiences to better understand and teach radiology,” Dr. Preece said. “Our faculty work hard to make sure materials and concepts are current. For example, reflecting the increasing importance of digital imaging in dentistry, we added three hours of core lectures on digital radiography followed by a hands-on laboratory where participants used various digital imaging products.”