Analysis of ten-year teaching evaluation of oral microbiology lab curriculum

Background: According to the updated concept of oral microbiology teaching, the School of Stomatology, Wuhan University, has carried out the teaching reform of oral microbiology since 2009, and added a lab curriculum of oral microbiology in order to foster foundational, professional, comprehensive, and innovative abilities of the students by a designed trial. Based on the previous data, the ten annual teaching experimental results from 2013 to 2022 were generally analyzed in this paper. Methods The curriculum is aimed at students in the fourth year of a 5-year bachelor program and adopts a cooperative learning mode. The experimental teaching mainly includes four parts: collection and treatment of dental plaque, isolation and cultivation of cariogenic bacteria, staining and biochemical identification of cariogenic bacteria. This paper makes an overall analysis of students' experimental results from 2013 to 2022, and evaluates the role of the teaching method and teaching system in improving students' experimental practice ability and comprehensive innovation ability. Results The 664 study students’ grades on oral microbiology improved during the lab curriculum: The rate of "C" in the second, third and fourth experiments decreased significantly compared to experiment one. The results show that the experimental course improves students' achievement, helps students to understand and master the course content, and has been positively reviewed by students. Conclusion Through systematic experimental teaching and practice, this lab curriculum is helpful to improve students' professional skills and scientific research ability, cultivate students' interest in scientific research and improve the quality of stomatology education.