August 28, 2024 • 21 mins
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What if artificial intelligence could revolutionize dental education? Join us as we uncover the groundbreaking initiatives spearheaded by Dr. Nathalia Andrade from the UB Dental School. In this episode, Dr. Andrade shares her journey of securing an AI Seed Fund for her transformative project, "Transforming Periodontal and Dental Care Powered by Artificial Intelligence." She unveils her innovative course, Periodontal and Dental Technologies, which seamlessly integrates AI, digital planning, and microsurgery into dental training. Dr. Andrade discusses her structured teaching approach, emphasizing the importance of a solid knowledge foundation and her dedication to making learning engaging and efficient for her students.
Dr. Andrade's commitment to educational excellence is evident as she explains her strategies for accommodating different learning styles and connecting theoretical knowledge with clinical applications. She incorporates diverse learning activities, personalized sessions, and innovative tools like AI and hands-on simulations to enhance dental education. Through group case presentations and debates, she fosters collaborative learning and critical thinking. The episode also highlights the invaluable support from the academic community, showcasing the collective effort required to create a successful course. Listen in to discover how Dr. Andrade's passion and innovative approach are shaping the future of dental education.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Maggie Grady (00:04):
Welcome to the Teaching Table, a monthly
podcast where we'll engage ininsightful conversations about
the dynamic world of teaching,learning and technology within
higher education.
Brought to you by theUniversity at Buffalo Office of
Curriculum, Assessment andTeaching Transformation or CATT
and made possible by thegenerous support of the
Genteels' Excellence in TeachingFund.
(00:26):
This podcast aims to shed lighton the pathways to educational
excellence.
I'm your host, Maggie Grady, alearning designer in CATT.
Today, I'm delighted to bejoined by Dr.
Nathalia Andrade from the UBDental School and recent
recipient of the AI Seed Fund,where she is transforming
periodontal and dental carethrough artificial intelligence.
(00:49):
So, Dr.
Andrade, congratulations firston receiving the AI Seed Fund
for your recent project entitledTransforming Periodontal and
Dental Care Powered byArtificial Intelligence, or AI.
For those of you that are notfamiliar, the Office of the Vice
Provost for Academic Affairsdedicated $50,000 to be used for
(01:11):
seed funds to enable facultyacross the campus to integrate
generative AI into course andcurricular redesign.
Can you tell our listeners alittle bit more about your
winning project and what thefunding means to you and how you
plan on implementing the fundsto your goal?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (01:29):
Yes, sure, thank you for the compliments,
and this fund was applied tosupport the new course
periodontal and dentaltechnologies that I designed.
My specialty, periodontics.
It's a very surgical specialtyand have many softwares that are
AI-based that we can use, andmy intention, my goal with this
course was to introduce newtechnologies that can be
(01:51):
incorporated to the patient careto our students, with main
focus on AI, digital planningand microsurgery.
And as a new faculty at UB, itwas a great stimulus to take the
risk and go ahead with the ideaof this new course, and they
helped me to bring experts inAI-based softwares to teach the
(02:12):
students new techniques that Idon't know, because I know many
of them, but I don't know all ofthem, so it was good to connect
with experts from other schoolstoo.
And also I choose faculty thatthey are applying AI-based
softwares in large scales intheir school so they could teach
(02:33):
us how we could do that here atUB, what we need to get there.
Maggie Grady (02:37):
Can you tell our listeners how do you incorporate
the latest advancements intechnologies in dental medicine
in your teaching and then how doyou believe that these methods
may be adapted to otherdisciplines?
Yeah, sure, I believe the firststep is to create a strong
foundation of knowledge.
Even before we start to teachthem how to use the technology,
(02:59):
they need to know what they'redoing and how they would do
without the tools we havenowadays.
And it's also important to takein consideration and highlight
that we have many sources ofinformation.
We have Google, youtube,students can take courses in
other places, and we also havestudents with different levels
of experience in the classroom.
(03:21):
In my case, I also had facultyattending the classes because
they wanted to learn, so therewere people with different
levels of experience andbackground in the classroom.
That's why I felt it was reallyimportant starting by creating
this strong foundation and makesure everybody was in the same
level before we even start toteach about the technologies.
So for that, I divided thecourse in modules models and the
(03:47):
first lecture was always areview of basic principles.
In my case, I teach mainlyabout surgery, so basic
principles about how to do theprocedure, and as I was teaching
, that I was always focused onevidence-based concepts, but
mainly how to apply this conceptin the clinic.
So there's a concept, how, atthe moment, we are doing the
(04:09):
surgery or we're planning thesurgery, how we use that concept
.
So not just learn about theconcept itself, but how to apply
.
And then, after this firstlecture that was the same thing
for all the models I would startwith the technical part, so
actually how to use thetechnologies.
So, for example, if it's asoftware, they would have a
(04:31):
guide where I explain exactlyhow to open the software, where
to click, how to do.
But together I also putinformation like hey, before
click here, remember all theseconcepts I teach in the other
class.
You need to have all that inyour mind before you go ahead.
Or if it's a software that usesAI and AI is doing something
(04:52):
for you, what is the checklistthat you need to make sure it's
all right and AI did right, orif there is something you need
to fix .
.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (05:01):
And then, after this part, this for me,
was the foundation.
They learn the basic concepts.
They learn the critical, thefoundation.
They learn how.
They learn the basic concepts.
They learn the criticalthinking.
They learn how to do thetechnical part, the last part of
each model.
I do problem-based learningactivities, also known as pbl,
activities that allow thestudents to build new knowledge
on the topic of what they havelearned.
This way they can be creativeand come up with new ideas and
(05:24):
also make sure they are beingable to use what they learn in a
real situation.
So we had simulations and zonesand debates in between the
students for this part of theactivities.
Maggie Grady (05:37):
So you have strong foundational skills.
You go back and you doublecheck and make sure that
everybody's on the same page,which is awesome.
That's a great example ofteaching and the best part of
teaching and then you go aheadand you put some active learning
in .
And you make it a little bitexciting, engaging for those
students, which is awesome.
Good job.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (05:56):
I think it's really important to make
learning fun.
It's important for us and forthe students because we spend so
much time together.
Especially this course I wasgiving to them after they were
the whole day in the clinic, wasat night after everything, so
they're tired, and something Ithink is really important is
respect the students and theirtime, and something I do too.
(06:18):
I don't put myself as an upperlevel of the students and I
don't think faculty should bedoing that.
I tell them that we are in thesame level and I'm learning
together with them.
I was learning new techniquesfrom the speakers.
I was learning new ways to dothings from the ideas the
students were having during thecourse.
I was learning how to teachbecause I never gave a course
(06:39):
about that before, so it needsto be a good experience and fun
for everybody.
I agree with you.
Maggie Grady (06:47):
How do you balance theoretical knowledge with
practical skills in yourcurriculum to prepare students
for the real world?
You kind of alluded to the factthat you're already using AI
and the fact that you're havingthem do debates or problem-based
learning.
So that might help with that.
But what elements of thatapproach could you effectively
translate to other disciplinesor our listeners that may not be
(07:10):
in the dental field or in amedical field?
How can they take some of yourteaching style and apply it to
their own teaching style?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (07:19):
That's actually very important to me
and something that I did that Ithink can help other people too.
I reach out to part-timefaculty and to alumni students
and I ask them what they thinkthat they should have learned
during their time in school orwhat their students should be
learning for the part-times.
They work part-time in theclinic and part-time at school,
(07:41):
so they have a very good idea ofthe real world and I ask them
what do you think we should beteaching?
I ask the alumni students whatyou wish you had learned
regarding technology while youwere at school, because I wanted
to make sure what I wasteaching was actually useful for
the students when they leave,and they were ready for the real
world.
(08:01):
And right, right, and did, Ialso did.
.
I asked the students what theywanted to learn, because they go
to conferences, they look onInstagram people doing things
and they read articles aboutdifferent techniques, and they
have a big desire .
(09:06):
.
So Nathalia I asked them whatdo you want to learn during this
course?
And they actually gave me a lotof ideas and insights and I did
my best to incorporateeverything they asked me.
I love that.
That was really good and, likeI said before for the class.
I always do my lectures, Iprepare my lectures trying to
connect with the clinic.
So, especially the very firstlectures that were about the
principles and the basicconcepts, I always connect that
with how they apply.
Like I said before, it's notjust learn about the concept
itself, but it's how to use theconcept and why the concept is
important for you.
Maggie Grady (08:57):
So I think that makes sense.
Yes, I'd love that.
I'd like that you combine thetwo and that makes a more
enriching experience for yourstudents.
It sounds like you're anawesome teacher, thank you.
So, natalia, in terms ofreaching your students, what
strategies do you employ toadapt your teaching methods to
accommodate different learningstyles and ensure all students
(09:19):
grasp the material effectively?
Like you already mentioned that, you do the foundational work,
so that's applaud to that.
Any other techniques that youcan share with us?
And then, lastly, on thatquestion, how could those
strategies be implemented inother academic areas to improve
overall educational outcomes?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (09:38):
Like I said before, I divide the
courses in different parts andin each one of these parts they
have different kind ofactivities to learn about the
same topic.
So different learning styles ofthe students.
I think I end up reaching eachone of these different styles
because they have the chance tolearn about the same topic in
(09:59):
different ways.
So, like I said, I havetheoretical classes with most of
them with me, also withspeakers that they bring a
different methodology, adifferent view.
So maybe someone that didn'tunderstand the way I said is
going to understand with theother person that came from
completely different backgroundof me.
Hands-on simulations.
(10:20):
So a lot of differentactivities.
But also what I think was veryimportant is that all the
students have the chance to havea moment one-one with me.
So if they were planning a caseof their own patients, they had
a moment in the course thatthey can come sit with me and I
will go step-by-step with themhow to do.
So at this moment I could checkif there was something missing,
(10:41):
some points that they missed.
I could at this moment do amore personalized approach to
each student and highlight theirstrengths, check their weakness
and correct.
So that was very important.
That was hard to do because Iwas trying to keep the group
small because I wanted to havethese moments, but it just grow
and had many people.
(11:02):
But I keep doing.
I think that was a moment thatwas important.
Maggie Grady (11:07):
I think that exactly what you said, by just
explaining it maybe a differentway, or bringing somebody else
in for their explanation,sometimes goes, you know, a long
way.
So, moving into innovation,what innovative teaching
techniques or tools have youfound most effective in dental
education, and how do you thinkyou could adapt that for others
(11:29):
to use in their own disciplines?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (11:32):
When we are thinking about innovation in
the classroom, we need toconsider that there are good and
bad points of each.
For example, softwares thatincorporating AI.
They can really speed up theprocess but they can also make
mistakes.
So it's really important toteach technical skills but also
the critical thinking to thestudents.
One activity that the studentsreally loved and I thought was
(11:54):
really good was the simulation.
Give a real case for them to dothe planning of the surgery and
go through the software frombeginning to end in the process.
This activity is supposed to betwo hours and I don't know how
many hours I was there with thembecause they didn't want to
leave.
They did the exercise I gave tothem and then they brought
their own case and they want tokeep doing.
(12:15):
They were very happy that theywere being able to do by
themselves.
So that was rewarding to me,see how they were happy.
Sure, and another activity thatwas really nice and I think
other faculty could apply fortheir courses was I did a group
case presentation where theyneed to do the treatment plan of
(12:35):
a case that was a more complexcase.
And then after they present,they were divided into groups,
and after they present the othergroup needs to come up with a
different treatment plan.
And then they had a debateabout the surgical design and
outcome, the guide, design,outcome and everything.
(12:56):
And together with that we hadthe other faculty from the
department being judges for thedebate.
And that was amazing because Ihad the chair of my department
that's been at UB for more than30 years participate in the
debate.
Even the other faculty maybewere not too much into the
technological part, but theyknow a lot about the surgical
(13:18):
and the principles andeverything.
So they were helping to checkif the students were actually
engaging on all that andincluding all that in their
treatment plan.
And it was a fun moment.
We had the whole departmenttogether playing, discussing, so
I think it was good not justfor the learning process but
also for our, it was a socialmoment.
(13:39):
For our friendship.
Maggie Grady (13:41):
Building a nice community.
Yep, that's nice.
I like that you take theexperience the seasonal
professor you mentioned, andalso with the new, and kind of
meshing them all together.
So you're seeing the oldtechniques and the new
techniques.
I love that.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (13:58):
They actually attended almost all the
classes.
Maggie Grady (14:04):
To see a fresh take on what they've taught and
to see a different perspective.
I can totally see that.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (14:10):
And they gave great insights during the
lectures too, so it was good tohave them there.
Maggie Grady (14:16):
So, as a follow-up to the previous question, how
do you assess the effectivenessof your teaching methods and
innovation, and what assessmenttechniques could be valuable for
educators in other fields.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (14:28):
My initial goal with this course was to
introduce students totechnologies that can be used
for patient care in their dailyroutine, and my main assessment
was actually seeing thishappening in the clinic.
The students start to use thetechnology they learn in the
course in real patients.
So I saw students usingmicroscope to do surgeries or
(14:49):
doing a surgery using a guidethat was 3D printed and planned
by them using the softwares.
So that, for me, showed me thatthe goal was achieved and we
are in the beginning, but we arestarting this process with our
students.
But, of course, I also didassessments during the course.
At the end of each module, Iwanted to check if the students
(15:12):
were actually being able toprocess all the information and
apply the information.
For me, the assessment is partof the learning process, so
that's why I also use PBLactivities as part of the
learning process.
(15:33):
And I don't want to then to justI don't want to do a test and
make sure they memorize ananswer and they're being able to
answer that in the test, butalso they being able to come up
with new ideas, and I need tosay they had very good ideas of
things that could be done in adifferent way and I believe that
happened because they had,because we built that good
foundation, so they had a realknowledge in their mind.
(15:54):
They are not just memorizingone sentence to put in a test.
They actually know about thetopic so they can create
something new.
And also, I think it wasimportant that they felt safe to
risk.
We create an environment thatthey feel they can speak their
mind.
It can be wrong, it can beright, and I can guide them
through that, but they have thefreedom to speak and from that
(16:16):
it came up so many nice ideas.
.
That made me really, reallyhappy
Maggie Grady (16:20):
Right, and you were talking about AI software.
What software do you use?
c.
(17:06):
A b B S
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (16:26):
We can use AI in dentistry for different
parts, so I would say thetreatment of the patient.
Have the diagnosis when weunderstand what's going on with
the patient, then we do thetreatment itself and then we do
the maintenance of the treatmentand make sure it's everything
going well after.
So we can use AI for all theseparts.
My course was mainly focused onthe treatment because we were
(16:49):
doing the surgeries.
We are actually activelytreating the patient and using
the softwares for that.
So we use softwares for digitalplanning.
That's 3Shape, codeagnostic.
There are many different thatthey can use for that Mesh Mixer
, blue Sky, I actually that's anice point I make sure they were
(17:10):
learning all different kind ofsoftwares because when they
leave school they maybe are notgoing to have access to the one
we have in here, so I want themto have contact with the other
softwares too, so anywhere theygo they will be able to apply
what they learn.
Maggie Grady (17:26):
Can you share examples of how you have adapted
your teaching methods inresponse to student feedback or
the learning like.
T hey how can others indifferent disciplines use that
same approach?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (17:39):
Yes, I did a survey with my students
asking there what they liked inthe course.
What they didn't like, theyknew from the beginning there
was a new course and I wascoming up with new ways to teach
that that I didn't know if itwould work or not.
So I would need their feedbacka lot to improve.
And it was a surprise for methat content they loved the
(18:00):
lectures with the foundations.
I thought it not like becausethey would repeat things they
theoretically already know, andI think that's something that
can help other faculty to startwith building this.
That they feel more confident todo what they need to do.
(18:22):
In our case, we are doingsurgeries in patients, so they
need to feel confident abouttheir own knowledge.
And something I learned too isthat they definitely don't like
Zoom classes.
It's not that they didn't likethe contact or the speaker.
They said they don't like that.
It was through Zoom.
So that was the big learningfor me.
They said like, we don't likethat.
They were very clear about it.
Maggie Grady (18:44):
Yes kind learning.
For me they sounded like wedon't like that.
They were clear about that kindof wraps up our conversation,
so I hope that the conversationencourages others to try new
teaching approaches andstrategies, take some of those
that we were just talking aboutin different ways to engage and
reach today's student.
So again, thank you for takingthe time to meet with me today
and do you have any finalthoughts that you want to share
with our audience?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (19:03):
yes, I want to say two things.
The first I think it's reallyimportant to to be able to
engage the students, explain tothem the importance of what they
are learning or, like I saidbefore, ask them what they.
want to learn and start.
from there, because if theyfeel that's important, they will
be motivated to be there.
They want to learn.
But I think to keep thisengagement you need to make sure
(19:25):
that all the time they're thereis useful.
They're using that forsomething in the future and they
are aware of that.
They're understanding when theyare going to use that.
So I think that makeseverything go smooth and better
and reach the goal.
And the other thing I want tosay I just want to thank you
everybody from my department andfrom my school.
I had a lot of support from theleadership of the school, the
(19:49):
leadership .
of Nathalia my department, theother faculty Everybody helped
me a lot IT buffalo.
edu/ catt dental school,everybody helped me so much
ubcatt@ buffalo.
edu course happen.
Also, my friends from otherschools that accept to come here
and give lectures.
And especially, I want to saythank you to the students, of
course, because they made thecourse so nice and so special
(20:09):
for me.
They were so dedicated toeverything and that makes me so
happy.
Like I said before, for me thiscourse was a dream coming true,
especially when I saw theresults at the end, so I really
need to thank my my students.
Maggie Grady (20:24):
Oh, I love it.
Can we just clone you?
We need a whole bunch.
Thank you for joining us todayat the teaching table.
We've discussed innovativeteaching approaches using AI
with dental professor Dr NataliaAndrade.
And be sure to connect with usonline at buffaloedu slash cat,
(20:45):
that's C-A-T-T.
Or email us at ubcat atbuffaloedu.
Welcome to the Teaching Table, a monthly
podcast where we'll engage ininsightful conversations about
the dynamic world of teaching,learning and technology within
higher education.
Brought to you by theUniversity at Buffalo Office of
Curriculum, Assessment andTeaching Transformation or CATT
and made possible by thegenerous support of the
Genteels' Excellence in TeachingFund.
(00:26):
This podcast aims to shed lighton the pathways to educational
excellence.
I'm your host, Maggie Grady, alearning designer in CATT.
Today, I'm delighted to bejoined by Dr.
Nathalia Andrade from the UBDental School and recent
recipient of the AI Seed Fund,where she is transforming
periodontal and dental carethrough artificial intelligence.
(00:49):
So, Dr.
Andrade, congratulations firston receiving the AI Seed Fund
for your recent project entitledTransforming Periodontal and
Dental Care Powered byArtificial Intelligence, or AI.
For those of you that are notfamiliar, the Office of the Vice
Provost for Academic Affairsdedicated $50,000 to be used for
(01:11):
seed funds to enable facultyacross the campus to integrate
generative AI into course andcurricular redesign.
Can you tell our listeners alittle bit more about your
winning project and what thefunding means to you and how you
plan on implementing the fundsto your goal?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (01:29):
Yes, sure, thank you for the compliments,
and this fund was applied tosupport the new course
periodontal and dentaltechnologies that I designed.
My specialty, periodontics.
It's a very surgical specialtyand have many softwares that are
AI-based that we can use, andmy intention, my goal with this
course was to introduce newtechnologies that can be
(01:51):
incorporated to the patient careto our students, with main
focus on AI, digital planningand microsurgery.
And as a new faculty at UB, itwas a great stimulus to take the
risk and go ahead with the ideaof this new course, and they
helped me to bring experts inAI-based softwares to teach the
(02:12):
students new techniques that Idon't know, because I know many
of them, but I don't know all ofthem, so it was good to connect
with experts from other schoolstoo.
And also I choose faculty thatthey are applying AI-based
softwares in large scales intheir school so they could teach
(02:33):
us how we could do that here atUB, what we need to get there.
Maggie Grady (02:37):
Can you tell our listeners how do you incorporate
the latest advancements intechnologies in dental medicine
in your teaching and then how doyou believe that these methods
may be adapted to otherdisciplines?
Yeah, sure, I believe the firststep is to create a strong
foundation of knowledge.
Even before we start to teachthem how to use the technology,
(02:59):
they need to know what they'redoing and how they would do
without the tools we havenowadays.
And it's also important to takein consideration and highlight
that we have many sources ofinformation.
We have Google, youtube,students can take courses in
other places, and we also havestudents with different levels
of experience in the classroom.
(03:21):
In my case, I also had facultyattending the classes because
they wanted to learn, so therewere people with different
levels of experience andbackground in the classroom.
That's why I felt it was reallyimportant starting by creating
this strong foundation and makesure everybody was in the same
level before we even start toteach about the technologies.
So for that, I divided thecourse in modules models and the
(03:47):
first lecture was always areview of basic principles.
In my case, I teach mainlyabout surgery, so basic
principles about how to do theprocedure, and as I was teaching
, that I was always focused onevidence-based concepts, but
mainly how to apply this conceptin the clinic.
So there's a concept, how, atthe moment, we are doing the
(04:09):
surgery or we're planning thesurgery, how we use that concept
.
So not just learn about theconcept itself, but how to apply
.
And then, after this firstlecture that was the same thing
for all the models I would startwith the technical part, so
actually how to use thetechnologies.
So, for example, if it's asoftware, they would have a
(04:31):
guide where I explain exactlyhow to open the software, where
to click, how to do.
But together I also putinformation like hey, before
click here, remember all theseconcepts I teach in the other
class.
You need to have all that inyour mind before you go ahead.
Or if it's a software that usesAI and AI is doing something
(04:52):
for you, what is the checklistthat you need to make sure it's
all right and AI did right, orif there is something you need
to fix .
.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (05:01):
And then, after this part, this for me,
was the foundation.
They learn the basic concepts.
They learn the critical, thefoundation.
They learn how.
They learn the basic concepts.
They learn the criticalthinking.
They learn how to do thetechnical part, the last part of
each model.
I do problem-based learningactivities, also known as pbl,
activities that allow thestudents to build new knowledge
on the topic of what they havelearned.
This way they can be creativeand come up with new ideas and
(05:24):
also make sure they are beingable to use what they learn in a
real situation.
So we had simulations and zonesand debates in between the
students for this part of theactivities.
Maggie Grady (05:37):
So you have strong foundational skills.
You go back and you doublecheck and make sure that
everybody's on the same page,which is awesome.
That's a great example ofteaching and the best part of
teaching and then you go aheadand you put some active learning
in .
And you make it a little bitexciting, engaging for those
students, which is awesome.
Good job.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (05:56):
I think it's really important to make
learning fun.
It's important for us and forthe students because we spend so
much time together.
Especially this course I wasgiving to them after they were
the whole day in the clinic, wasat night after everything, so
they're tired, and something Ithink is really important is
respect the students and theirtime, and something I do too.
(06:18):
I don't put myself as an upperlevel of the students and I
don't think faculty should bedoing that.
I tell them that we are in thesame level and I'm learning
together with them.
I was learning new techniquesfrom the speakers.
I was learning new ways to dothings from the ideas the
students were having during thecourse.
I was learning how to teachbecause I never gave a course
(06:39):
about that before, so it needsto be a good experience and fun
for everybody.
I agree with you.
Maggie Grady (06:47):
How do you balance theoretical knowledge with
practical skills in yourcurriculum to prepare students
for the real world?
You kind of alluded to the factthat you're already using AI
and the fact that you're havingthem do debates or problem-based
learning.
So that might help with that.
But what elements of thatapproach could you effectively
translate to other disciplinesor our listeners that may not be
(07:10):
in the dental field or in amedical field?
How can they take some of yourteaching style and apply it to
their own teaching style?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (07:19):
That's actually very important to me
and something that I did that Ithink can help other people too.
I reach out to part-timefaculty and to alumni students
and I ask them what they thinkthat they should have learned
during their time in school orwhat their students should be
learning for the part-times.
They work part-time in theclinic and part-time at school,
(07:41):
so they have a very good idea ofthe real world and I ask them
what do you think we should beteaching?
I ask the alumni students whatyou wish you had learned
regarding technology while youwere at school, because I wanted
to make sure what I wasteaching was actually useful for
the students when they leave,and they were ready for the real
world.
(08:01):
And right, right, and did, Ialso did.
.
I asked the students what theywanted to learn, because they go
to conferences, they look onInstagram people doing things
and they read articles aboutdifferent techniques, and they
have a big desire .
(09:06):
.
So Nathalia I asked them whatdo you want to learn during this
course?
And they actually gave me a lotof ideas and insights and I did
my best to incorporateeverything they asked me.
I love that.
That was really good and, likeI said before for the class.
I always do my lectures, Iprepare my lectures trying to
connect with the clinic.
So, especially the very firstlectures that were about the
principles and the basicconcepts, I always connect that
with how they apply.
Like I said before, it's notjust learn about the concept
itself, but it's how to use theconcept and why the concept is
important for you.
Maggie Grady (08:57):
So I think that makes sense.
Yes, I'd love that.
I'd like that you combine thetwo and that makes a more
enriching experience for yourstudents.
It sounds like you're anawesome teacher, thank you.
So, natalia, in terms ofreaching your students, what
strategies do you employ toadapt your teaching methods to
accommodate different learningstyles and ensure all students
(09:19):
grasp the material effectively?
Like you already mentioned that, you do the foundational work,
so that's applaud to that.
Any other techniques that youcan share with us?
And then, lastly, on thatquestion, how could those
strategies be implemented inother academic areas to improve
overall educational outcomes?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (09:38):
Like I said before, I divide the
courses in different parts andin each one of these parts they
have different kind ofactivities to learn about the
same topic.
So different learning styles ofthe students.
I think I end up reaching eachone of these different styles
because they have the chance tolearn about the same topic in
(09:59):
different ways.
So, like I said, I havetheoretical classes with most of
them with me, also withspeakers that they bring a
different methodology, adifferent view.
So maybe someone that didn'tunderstand the way I said is
going to understand with theother person that came from
completely different backgroundof me.
Hands-on simulations.
(10:20):
So a lot of differentactivities.
But also what I think was veryimportant is that all the
students have the chance to havea moment one-one with me.
So if they were planning a caseof their own patients, they had
a moment in the course thatthey can come sit with me and I
will go step-by-step with themhow to do.
So at this moment I could checkif there was something missing,
(10:41):
some points that they missed.
I could at this moment do amore personalized approach to
each student and highlight theirstrengths, check their weakness
and correct.
So that was very important.
That was hard to do because Iwas trying to keep the group
small because I wanted to havethese moments, but it just grow
and had many people.
(11:02):
But I keep doing.
I think that was a moment thatwas important.
Maggie Grady (11:07):
I think that exactly what you said, by just
explaining it maybe a differentway, or bringing somebody else
in for their explanation,sometimes goes, you know, a long
way.
So, moving into innovation,what innovative teaching
techniques or tools have youfound most effective in dental
education, and how do you thinkyou could adapt that for others
(11:29):
to use in their own disciplines?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (11:32):
When we are thinking about innovation in
the classroom, we need toconsider that there are good and
bad points of each.
For example, softwares thatincorporating AI.
They can really speed up theprocess but they can also make
mistakes.
So it's really important toteach technical skills but also
the critical thinking to thestudents.
One activity that the studentsreally loved and I thought was
(11:54):
really good was the simulation.
Give a real case for them to dothe planning of the surgery and
go through the software frombeginning to end in the process.
This activity is supposed to betwo hours and I don't know how
many hours I was there with thembecause they didn't want to
leave.
They did the exercise I gave tothem and then they brought
their own case and they want tokeep doing.
(12:15):
They were very happy that theywere being able to do by
themselves.
So that was rewarding to me,see how they were happy.
Sure, and another activity thatwas really nice and I think
other faculty could apply fortheir courses was I did a group
case presentation where theyneed to do the treatment plan of
(12:35):
a case that was a more complexcase.
And then after they present,they were divided into groups,
and after they present the othergroup needs to come up with a
different treatment plan.
And then they had a debateabout the surgical design and
outcome, the guide, design,outcome and everything.
(12:56):
And together with that we hadthe other faculty from the
department being judges for thedebate.
And that was amazing because Ihad the chair of my department
that's been at UB for more than30 years participate in the
debate.
Even the other faculty maybewere not too much into the
technological part, but theyknow a lot about the surgical
(13:18):
and the principles andeverything.
So they were helping to checkif the students were actually
engaging on all that andincluding all that in their
treatment plan.
And it was a fun moment.
We had the whole departmenttogether playing, discussing, so
I think it was good not justfor the learning process but
also for our, it was a socialmoment.
(13:39):
For our friendship.
Maggie Grady (13:41):
Building a nice community.
Yep, that's nice.
I like that you take theexperience the seasonal
professor you mentioned, andalso with the new, and kind of
meshing them all together.
So you're seeing the oldtechniques and the new
techniques.
I love that.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (13:58):
They actually attended almost all the
classes.
Maggie Grady (14:04):
To see a fresh take on what they've taught and
to see a different perspective.
I can totally see that.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (14:10):
And they gave great insights during the
lectures too, so it was good tohave them there.
Maggie Grady (14:16):
So, as a follow-up to the previous question, how
do you assess the effectivenessof your teaching methods and
innovation, and what assessmenttechniques could be valuable for
educators in other fields.
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (14:28):
My initial goal with this course was to
introduce students totechnologies that can be used
for patient care in their dailyroutine, and my main assessment
was actually seeing thishappening in the clinic.
The students start to use thetechnology they learn in the
course in real patients.
So I saw students usingmicroscope to do surgeries or
(14:49):
doing a surgery using a guidethat was 3D printed and planned
by them using the softwares.
So that, for me, showed me thatthe goal was achieved and we
are in the beginning, but we arestarting this process with our
students.
But, of course, I also didassessments during the course.
At the end of each module, Iwanted to check if the students
(15:12):
were actually being able toprocess all the information and
apply the information.
For me, the assessment is partof the learning process, so
that's why I also use PBLactivities as part of the
learning process.
(15:33):
And I don't want to then to justI don't want to do a test and
make sure they memorize ananswer and they're being able to
answer that in the test, butalso they being able to come up
with new ideas, and I need tosay they had very good ideas of
things that could be done in adifferent way and I believe that
happened because they had,because we built that good
foundation, so they had a realknowledge in their mind.
(15:54):
They are not just memorizingone sentence to put in a test.
They actually know about thetopic so they can create
something new.
And also, I think it wasimportant that they felt safe to
risk.
We create an environment thatthey feel they can speak their
mind.
It can be wrong, it can beright, and I can guide them
through that, but they have thefreedom to speak and from that
(16:16):
it came up so many nice ideas.
.
That made me really, reallyhappy
Maggie Grady (16:20):
Right, and you were talking about AI software.
What software do you use?
c.
(17:06):
A b B S
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (16:26):
We can use AI in dentistry for different
parts, so I would say thetreatment of the patient.
Have the diagnosis when weunderstand what's going on with
the patient, then we do thetreatment itself and then we do
the maintenance of the treatmentand make sure it's everything
going well after.
So we can use AI for all theseparts.
My course was mainly focused onthe treatment because we were
(16:49):
doing the surgeries.
We are actually activelytreating the patient and using
the softwares for that.
So we use softwares for digitalplanning.
That's 3Shape, codeagnostic.
There are many different thatthey can use for that Mesh Mixer
, blue Sky, I actually that's anice point I make sure they were
(17:10):
learning all different kind ofsoftwares because when they
leave school they maybe are notgoing to have access to the one
we have in here, so I want themto have contact with the other
softwares too, so anywhere theygo they will be able to apply
what they learn.
Maggie Grady (17:26):
Can you share examples of how you have adapted
your teaching methods inresponse to student feedback or
the learning like.
T hey how can others indifferent disciplines use that
same approach?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (17:39):
Yes, I did a survey with my students
asking there what they liked inthe course.
What they didn't like, theyknew from the beginning there
was a new course and I wascoming up with new ways to teach
that that I didn't know if itwould work or not.
So I would need their feedbacka lot to improve.
And it was a surprise for methat content they loved the
(18:00):
lectures with the foundations.
I thought it not like becausethey would repeat things they
theoretically already know, andI think that's something that
can help other faculty to startwith building this.
That they feel more confident todo what they need to do.
(18:22):
In our case, we are doingsurgeries in patients, so they
need to feel confident abouttheir own knowledge.
And something I learned too isthat they definitely don't like
Zoom classes.
It's not that they didn't likethe contact or the speaker.
They said they don't like that.
It was through Zoom.
So that was the big learningfor me.
They said like, we don't likethat.
They were very clear about it.
Maggie Grady (18:44):
Yes kind learning.
For me they sounded like wedon't like that.
They were clear about that kindof wraps up our conversation,
so I hope that the conversationencourages others to try new
teaching approaches andstrategies, take some of those
that we were just talking aboutin different ways to engage and
reach today's student.
So again, thank you for takingthe time to meet with me today
and do you have any finalthoughts that you want to share
with our audience?
Dr. Nathalia Andrade (19:03):
yes, I want to say two things.
The first I think it's reallyimportant to to be able to
engage the students, explain tothem the importance of what they
are learning or, like I saidbefore, ask them what they.
want to learn and start.
from there, because if theyfeel that's important, they will
be motivated to be there.
They want to learn.
But I think to keep thisengagement you need to make sure
(19:25):
that all the time they're thereis useful.
They're using that forsomething in the future and they
are aware of that.
They're understanding when theyare going to use that.
So I think that makeseverything go smooth and better
and reach the goal.
And the other thing I want tosay I just want to thank you
everybody from my department andfrom my school.
I had a lot of support from theleadership of the school, the
(19:49):
leadership .
of Nathalia my department, theother faculty Everybody helped
me a lot IT buffalo.
edu/ catt dental school,everybody helped me so much
ubcatt@ buffalo.
edu course happen.
Also, my friends from otherschools that accept to come here
and give lectures.
And especially, I want to saythank you to the students, of
course, because they made thecourse so nice and so special
(20:09):
for me.
They were so dedicated toeverything and that makes me so
happy.
Like I said before, for me thiscourse was a dream coming true,
especially when I saw theresults at the end, so I really
need to thank my my students.
Maggie Grady (20:24):
Oh, I love it.
Can we just clone you?
We need a whole bunch.
Thank you for joining us todayat the teaching table.
We've discussed innovativeteaching approaches using AI
with dental professor Dr NataliaAndrade.
And be sure to connect with usonline at buffaloedu slash cat,
(20:45):
that's C-A-T-T.
Or email us at ubcat atbuffaloedu.
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