Impact of a conference institute taught by individualized instruction

The results indicate that a CI based on individualized, flexible instruction succeeded in aiding acquisition and retention of new knowledge, fostering interactions between dental educators interested in educational research, augmenting a positive feeling toward educational research, and changing the subsequent professional activities of the participants. Data collected and analyzed during a five-year period following a five-week CI on educational research indicate the following: 1. The participants acquire, retain, and use an appreciable amount of information taught in a brief time period. 2. Instructional materials sent in advance for voluntary study have little influence on acquisition of knowledge. 3. Informal interactions between participants are an important part of the learning process at a CI. 4. Activities at the home institution do not shift to new broad categories to any appreciable extent, but changes in specific activities directly related to the goals of the CI were observed.