Experiential teaching centered on science popularisation videos: a randomised controlled trial on the impact on learning outcomes and core competencies of dental preventive medicine students

Medical students, as key communicators of health information in the future, require high-quality education and training. Traditional teaching models, which primarily focus on theoretical instruction, have limitations in cultivating students’ mastery of knowledge and their health education competencies. Experiential teaching, characterized by active learning and practical participation, offers new perspectives for medical education reform. However, existing studies have largely focused on the effectiveness of video viewing as a pedagogical medium, and there remains a lack of high-quality empirical research evaluating the specific impact of experiential teaching centered on science popularisation video production on students’ learning outcomes and core competencies. This study initially enrolled 80 undergraduate students from the compulsory course Oral Preventive Medicine, with 72 in the final analysis. Using a computer-generated randomization sequence, students were allocated at a 1:1 ratio to an intervention group or a control group (36 each), with assessors blinded to group assignment. The control group received conventional lecture-based instruction and post-class readings; the intervention group additionally participated in a health education video production project grounded in Kolb‘s experiential learning theory. Intervention effectiveness was assessed through a multidimensional system comprising a theoretical knowledge test, a self-assessment competency scale, a structured video quality scoring sheet, and a course experience questionnaire. After the intervention, the intervention group showed significantly higher theoretical knowledge scores than the control group ( \(22.64 \pm 2.69\) vs. \(20.86 \pm 1.96\) , \(F=17.612\) , \(P<0.001\) , Partial \(\eta ^2=0.203\) ). The self-perceived core competency total score was also significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group ( \(50.64 \pm 2.47\) vs. \(42.92 \pm 3.48\) , \(F=147.533\) , \(P<0.001\) , Partial \(\eta ^2=0.681\) , adjusted \(R^2=0.700\) ). The overall quality rating of the intervention group’s popular science videos was \(3.92 \pm 0.19\) (out of 5), with creativity and communication appeal scoring the highest ( \(4.33 \pm 0.49\) ). Course feedback revealed that the intervention group scored significantly higher than the control group on key items including knowledge translation, planning and design, communication confidence, and career development perception (all \(P<0.001\) , Cohen’s \(d=0.92\) –2.35). Experiential teaching centered on science popularisation video production not only significantly improved dental preventive medicine students’ mastery of theoretical knowledge and self-perceived core health education competencies, but also yielded popular science works of satisfactory quality, suggesting that this teaching model positively promotes students’ learning outcomes and core competencies, while profoundly strengthening their recognition of curriculum content and professional identity.