Linking Special Care Dentistry Curriculum to Seemingly Irrelevant Comedy Multimedia

Gamal-AbdelNaser, Ayat; Zahran, Esraa A; Osama, Haneen; Abd Elmaksoud, Mohamed Reda; Nader, Mohamed; Abd ElAziz, Tarek

doi:10.22062/sdme.2025.200895.1521

Linking Special Care Dentistry Curriculum to Seemingly Irrelevant Comedy Multimedia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ayat Gamal-AbdelNaser ¹

Esraa A Zahran ¹

Haneen Osama ¹

Mohamed Reda Abd Elmaksoud ¹

Mohamed Nader ¹

Tarek Abd ElAziz ²

¹ Department of Oral Medicine and Periodontology, Ahram Canadian University, Giza, Egypt

² High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

10.22062/sdme.2025.200895.1521

Abstract

Background: Special care dentistry constitutes a vital subject of undergraduate dental education. Providing proper dental care for vulnerable patient groups requires graduates who possess a firm grasp of and training in this discipline. However, the perceived dullness of the subject poses a significant barrier to effective student engagement and learning.
Objectives: This study aimed to explore the effect of incorporating comedy movie clips and memes into the lectures on students' learning experience and their long-term retention of the subject.
Methods: As an exploratory study, over three years, selected multimedia elements were integrated into Special Care Dentistry lectures at Ahram Canadian University in Egypt. A total of 700 students were invited to participate, and 108 completed the survey (response rate: 15.4%). Responses were collected electronically and analyzed statistically.
Results: The vast majority of participants (over 97%) found the teaching method appropriate, and none rated it as not valuable at all. More than 99% of participants reported that the videos enhanced their understanding, and nearly all participants, except one, indicated that the multimedia made the lectures more enjoyable. Moreover, 66.7% reported recalling the multimedia and its linked scientific content years after passing the course.
Conclusion: Respondents reported favorable perceptions of comedy-based multimedia. However, the single-group design, low response rate, and reliance on self-reported outcomes do not establish an effect on objective learning or long-term retention.

Highlights

Ayat Gamal-AbdelNaser: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Esraa A Zahran: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Haneen Osama: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Mohamed Reda Abd Elmaksoud: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Mohamed Nader: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Tarek Abd ElAziz: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Keywords

Audiovisual Aids

Education

Multimedia

Teaching Materials

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