Abstract

Professional schools face increasing commoditization and technological challenges, including online programs. Yet, to date there is little research on student development, which could be a source of competitive advantage. Meanwhile, professional schools, especially Dental Schools have long emphasized the importance of soft skills, community service, clinics, mission trips, exchange programs, student councils, and engaging in presentations and lectures. For Dental Schools, professional development is less about ‘extra-curricular’ activities and more about fulfilling a core aspect of their mission. For example, at the Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University, the student handbook notes: Ideally, professional development begins the first day the student enters dental school and does not end until the day the dentist retires from the profession (Student Handbook, DMD Program, 2022-2023, p. 159). Yet, to date there are no systems available to structure, motivate, and measure student development. Therefore, our research question is: How can we structure, motivate, and measure student development in professional schools? To address this question, we applied design science research (DSR) to problematize, develop, and implement a student development platform at a Dental school. The novel web-based self-service technology platform applies points as a student development measure (Mandviwalla et al. 2023; Mandviwalla et al. 2008). The platform manages and records the points earned by each student for professional development activities. Usage to-date includes 169 users, 536 profile updates, points activity (e.g., requests), posts (e.g., about an activity), and comments (on activities) on the platform. 6,250 professional development points have been awarded for 137 different professional development activities. To assess relevance, we are conducting an applicability check (Rosemann & Vessey, 2008) with Dental School students. We are surveying students on motivation, development, exposure, networking, and interest. References Rosemann, M., & Vessey, I. (2008). Toward improving the relevance of information systems research to practice: the role of applicability checks. MIS Quarterly, 1-22. Mandviwalla, M., Schuff, D., Miller, L., and Chacko, M. “A System to Structure, Measure, and Improve Student Development.” IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 16:6, pp. 1001 – 1013, December 2023. Mandviwalla, M., Patnayakuni, R., & Schuff, D. (2008). Improving the peer review process with information technology. Decision Support Systems, 46(1), 29-40.

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