Welcome to the Faculty Resources webpage. This site serves as a one-stop shop for dental faculty, offering a list of resources on a wide range of topics to support your teaching, research, and professional development.

AI Guide
Generative AI Use Guidelines

The Dugoni School has launched a new resource with guidelines to help faculty, staff, and students at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry understand how to use generative AI effectively and responsibly.

View the Guide

For programs offered by the school that provide CDE credits, participants need to register here prior to the start of the program. 

School Programs

  • New Faculty Orientation: A presentation is given to new faculty that covers a wide range of information: administration, absences, clinical protocols. A new faculty information folder is shared via the Pac Manual Guidebook. They are given a tour and introduced to the faculty they will work with. A mentor is assigned for shadowing. They also receive their ID badges and set up their email etc.
  • Cross Training: Held every quarter. Each week has a topic or subject and the presentation or hands-on events occurs each day of the week in an effort to reach all faculty. Week 3 of each quarter is faculty orientation week and week 10 is Grading week. These are not included in faculty cross training. Schedules are emailed to your Pacific email address and posted in 4F area.
  • Dean's Speakers Series: The purpose of the Dean's Speaker Series is to increase the knowledge, skills, behavior and attitudes of our faculty, staff, students and alumni as it relates to an understanding of what is happening more broadly in health care, oral health care and education.
  • Faculty Development Day(FDD): FDD is a quarterly event dedicated to the development of the dental faculty in areas of biomedical, research, clinical, trends in the industry as well as dental education. It occurs on Tuesday of final examination week.
  • Biomedical Science Seminars: The seminars cover a wide range of topics in basic science and their application in dentistry. Scheduled are emailed to your Pacific address.
  • Peer observation of teaching (POT): POT focuses on the strengths of the faculty member being observed, as well as on those areas that could be enhanced. Our primary goal is to provide formative feedback to support your teaching.
  • Annual Teaching Showcase: This program provides a low-risk platform for faculty to demonstrate innovative instructional practices and exchange ideas. [In-person]
  • Multi-institutional Dental Education Exchange (DEE): DEE is a multi-institutional group designed to strengthen our understanding of important issues in dental education and to collaborate with our colleagues in developing our skills as dental educators. Five dental schools joined to form the DEE, with one participating institution hosting a virtual (Zoom) session each year. Participating schools include University of Illinois-Chicago; University of Pittsburgh; Rutgers University; University of the Pacific; Boston University. [Zoom]
  • Teaching & Assessment in Dental Education (TADE): This course, formerly the Course Director Orientation, is open to all Dugoni faculty. The course focused on evidence-based learning design and assessment principles. The course is self-paced and hosted on Canvas, the university's learning management system. It uses a flexible modular approach, allowing you to choose the modules aligning best with your interest and teaching needs. [Self-paced]
  • Lunch and Learn Seminars: This program consists of a series of one hour seminars offered during lunch time.  The focus is on active learning and emergent pedagogies associated with emerging technologies. [In-person]

For teaching development programs, contact Dr. Meixun Sinky Zheng (szheng@pacific.edu) for more details. 

University Programs

Conferences

Dental education

Dentistry and science

General education

Seminars, webinars, and workshops

General Teaching Resources 

Dugoni School Resources 

These resources were developed in-house at the Dugoni School to help faculty with course planning and design.

  • Teaching and Assessment in Dental Education - Short Course. This self-paced online course provides a practical foundation in evidence-based educational design. The modules cover key aspects of course planning, including the backward approach to course and lesson design, writing meaningful learning objectives, applying best practices in assessment and exam-item writing, and using item-analysis data to strengthen teaching and assessment practices.
    • Hosted on Canvas and open to all Dugoni faculty.
    • For access or questions, contact: Dr. Meixun Sinky Zheng (szheng@pacific.edu).
  • Course director 101 (video): This 8-minute animated video provides a brief overview of the course planning process. While the video will be most helpful for new course directors, more experienced course directors can also use it as a refresher. [A few minor updates: 2024]:
    • Night clinics are 6:00 – 8: 30 pm.
    • Week 11: 1 instructional day (Mon) + 1 study day (Tue) + 3 days of final exams (Wed-Fri).
  • Introducing your course to students on Day 1 (video): Check out this video to see how our own Dr. Gitta Radjaeipour introduced her preclinical course to new D1 students on the first day of class. Dr. Radjaeipour's course introduction was clear, transparent, and tied nicely to comprehensive patient care.
  • Dugoni syllabus template (word): The template specifies the major sections and information that should be included in a course syllabus. It includes a sample generative AI course policy and the APA format for citing generative AI tools. (Updated 05.2025)
  • Dugoni Canvas template (website): The template specifies the minimum tools that need to be activated on a Canvas site. It was approved by the dental school's Curriculum Committee. Several examples of module organization are also provided. Click the link to self enroll on the Canvas template site (Pacific credentials required; updated 05.2025).
  • Dugoni Canvas site and syllabus checklist (word): This rubric is for department chair or vice chair use in reviewing Canvas sites and syllabi. All Canvas sites and syllabi need to be approved by the department chair before publishing.

Learning Objectives

Educational Alignment 

Backward Design

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Copyright and Fair Use

  • Copyright basics: A guide on copyright and fair use for Pacific faculty developed by Pacific librarians.
  • Creative Commons: Creative Commons is a non-profit organization which has developed and provided a set of public copyright licenses for authors to use when sharing their work with others.

Other resources

Please reach out to Dr. Sinky Zheng (szheng@pacific.edu) for any additional resources. 

Question tagging 

Item writing 

Item analysis

Assessment techniques

Formative assessment

Feedback giving

Rubrics

 

Below is a list of available and recommended tools for teaching and learning. Contact Meixun Sinky Zheng, PhD, Office of Academic Affairs, for consultation.

(Note: * indicates that the Dugoni School has a license. Also be aware that some links are only available to the University of the Pacific community.)

San Francisco software 

List of software and applications available on the San Francisco Campus (login required).
Contact Raybel Ramos, Associate Dean for Information Technology, for details.

University software

List of software and applications (design, reference management, statistics packages, and others) available at the university (login required).
Contact Raybel Ramos, Associate Dean for Information Technology, for details.

The CUBE

The CUBE, a technology-rich collaborative space in the university library, works with faculty, staff, and students to develop digital tools for teaching, learning, and research (e.g., 3D printing, AR, VR, drones, multimedia production). Contact: cube@pacific.edu

This page features resources to help you leverage generative AI (GenAI) for academic purposes. In addition, we will continue to provide ongoing professional development sessions, including seminars, workshops, and on-demand resources.

Dugoni School GenAI Guidelines

The Dugoni School has developed the Dugoni Guidelines for Responsible GenAI  to support faculty, staff, students, and residents in using GenAI effectively and responsibly for teaching, learning, research, clinical care, and daily administrative work. 

Note: All community members are expected to review the guidelines prior to using GenAI in their work. Faculty are also encouraged to remind students to review the guidelines to promote effective and responsible use. Those mentoring students or other trainees on research should review the guidelines with them.

(The guidelines were last updated: 03/20/2025)

More Resources

General resources
For research 
For teaching
For learning 
  • University of the Pacific library has developed a collection of resources for students.

Recommended readings

AI and HIPAA: A primer. A research paper discussing the impact and implications of AI on HIPAA.

Anthropic Education Report: How university students use Claude. Study showing how students use Claude. 

Anthropic Education Report: How educators use Claude. Study showing how educators use Claude.

How people are using ChatGPT. A study conducted by OpenAI on different ways people are suing its chatbot ChatGPT.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT dominates personal uses, while Anthropic’s Claude has the edge in business, dueling usage studies show. A Fortune article reporting findings from two global studies by OpenAI and Anthropic, examining how people are using ChatGPT and Claude AI. 

It’s Time to Pull the Plug on ChatGPT at Cal State. An Inside Higher Ed article on recent lawsuits showing that AI poses risk to students' mental health. 

Ambient AI Scribes in Clinical Practice: A Randomized Trial. A randomized trial study by UCLA Health to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of two clinical AI scribes (AI-powered tools to record patient encounters and generate visit notes).

GenAI Tools

(Note: * Indicates that Pacific has an institutional license.)

  • Co-pilot*: MicroSoft's chatbot; log in with Pacific credentials.
  • Scopus AI*: GenAI for literature review that has been integrated into library databases; log in with Pacific credentials.
  • ChatGPT: Chat, upload files, and perform data analysis.
  • Claude.AI: Chat and upload files.
  • ChatPDF: Upload pdf and ask questions about the content.
  • Synthesia: Create videos with AI avatars and voiceovers.
  • Heygen: Create videos with AI avatars and voiceovers.
  • Canva AI: AI-powered tool for creating flyers, images, and various graphics.
  • NotebookLM: Personalized AI research assistant powered by Google's Gemini AI model. It can summarize documents, answer questions about them, and host interactive discussions with two AI hosts. Free.
  • OpenEvidence AI: AI tool for medical information.
  • AI Xploria provides a full list of AI tools by category to explore. The list is updated regularly. 
  • ADEA teaching resources: resources on teaching, learning, assessment, competency-based education, and more. It includes MedEdPORTAL, a peer-reviewed publication with downloadable multimedia resources.
  • ADEA eLearn: Live and on-demand learning resources on a variety of important topics impacting dental education.
  • Educause: a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing higher education through technology integration.
  • Chronicle of Higher Education: a leader in higher education journalism that provides news, advice, and insights to succeed in a rapidly changing educational landscape.
  • Online Learning Consortium (OLC): a leading organization dedicated to the advancement of digital and online learning.

Instructional Approaches

Below are practical tips, best practices, and sample lessons organized by instructional approaches/context.

Gameplay is a great way to engage this generation of students. Below are a few free web tools to create game-based learning.

  • Jeopardylabs Web-based jeopardy game that doesn't need a PowerPoint slide template. It has free and paid versions.
  • Hot Potato Create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, crossword, matching/ordering and flll in the gap activities. It is free.
  • Quizlet Search for and create your own flash cards and games. It is free.

Data and Support

Educational and other outcome data and support that you can request for teaching, research, and administrative purposes.

Educational Data Support

From idea generation to data acquisition, data analysis (including statistics), data visualization, and reporting, we provide support to help you translate educational data into actions. Contact: 

Below are the types of educational outcome data that you can request for teaching, research, and administrative purposes. There might be other types of data that are not listed here. Please reach out - we might be able to work with you to collect/access the data. 

Learning outcomes

  • GPA and course grades
  • ExamSoft longitudinal performance reports
  • Integrated National Board Dental Exam (INBDE)
  • ADEX (clinical licensure exam; Dr. Homer Asadi, Clinical Dean)
  • Competency assessment performance (Dr. Homer Asadi, Clinical Dean)

Instructional effectiveness

  • Student Rating of Instruction (SRI)
  • Peer Observation of Teaching 

Curriculum design

  • Curriculum mapping reports
  • Enrichment program outcomes

Curriculum feedback

  • Annual ADEA Survey of Dental School Seniors
  • Annual Alumni Survey

Digital Platform Analytics

Many of the learning technology platforms used at the dental school provide program, course, and student level usage data.

Educational Outcome Data Website

This website (on MyPacific) hosts all major types of school-level summary data and reports, designed to support internal review by school leadership. It is currently accessible to all department chairs, program directors, associate deans, and the dean. Log in with your Pacific credential. 

Other Institutional Data

Pacific Dugoni's Outcomes Team maintains various types of other institutional outcome data, including clinical and operational data. For more information, contact:

Research & Scholarship

For support in biomedical and clinical research, contact the following individuals.

Dr. Didem Ozdemir Ozenen (dozdemirozenen@pacific.edu)

Associate Dean for Oral Health Education

Dr. Ozdemir Ozenen is Associate Dean for Oral Health Education at the Arthur Dugoni School of Dentistry. She earned her DDS degree and a PhD in Pediatric Dentistry from Istanbul University, and a second PhD in Medical Education from Marmara University. She conducted clinical research at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

For support on educational research and scholarship of teaching and learning, contact: 

Dr. Meixun Sinky Zheng (szheng@pacific.edu)

Director of Educational Innovation and Assessment

Dr. Zheng can provide support for the life cycle of educational research and scholarship of teaching and learning, from idea generation to data collection, data analysis, and presentation and manuscript development. 

Educational Poster Template

Click here to access a template for educational research posters. It is focused on the organization, content, and key points to be covered in each section. 

Note: You might modify the colors to match the look and feel of the Dugoni themed template below. 

Educational Manuscript Template

Click here to access a template for full-length original research manuscripts. It provides a high-level structure for publishing original research, key points to be covered in each section, and tips on how to present research findings. 

Journal of Dental Education (JDE) Short Papers

In addition to traditional full-length original research manuscripts, JDE also publishes 500-word short papers in the Advancing Through Innovation series. Below are some examples of published short papers by Dugoni faculty.

Other Resources

Design & Photo Poster Template

In an effort to ensure that all research posters produced at the Dugoni School have a standard, cohesive, branded look that identifies the work with the dental school, the Design and Photo Services Department has created two poster templates (one horizontal, one vertical) available for download here (Login with Pacific credentials required). Contact the Design and Photo Department. 

Publish Open Access for Free

Pacific has access to agreements with Elsevier, Wiley, Springer Nature, and ACS Publications to allow Pacific corresponding authors to publish Open Access in many of their journals for free. Visit the library's Research Support Guide to view the list of journals covered.

Selected Journals

Dental and Medical Education Journals

Basic Science Education Journals

General Educational Research Journals

Other Journals

Oral Health

Oral Health is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific. The journal publishes research across all areas of oral health, including education, research, and clinical practice. The journal is open access (free for all readers). But unlike most open access journals, it is also free for all authors. 

Co-Editors-in-Chief: 

 

Internal funding

University funding
A variety of grants to support faculty teaching, research, and professional development. (PacificID login required). 

Contact: Dr. Didem Ozenen, Associate Dean for Oral Health Education, dozdemirozenen@pacific.edu.

Dugoni grants
The grants support all types of research, including basic science, dental/clinical, and educational research. (PacificID login required).

Contact: Harmony Matshik Dakafay, Research Lab Manager, hmatshikdakafay@pacific.edu.

Byron J. Thayer Fund
Funds may be used to support a variety of programs and projects for the School of Dentistry. 

Contact: Dr. Didem Ozenen, Associate Dean for Oral Health Education, dozdemirozenen@pacific.edu.

External funding 

Dugoni Faculty Research Resources

Resources on grants, grant support, shared instruments and facilities, links to IRB Office and more.

Research Support Guide

The university library's research support guide webpage has information on citation management (e.g., RefWorks), finding and choosing journals, publishing open access for free, and more.

IRB Resources

Follow the steps outlined here (PDF) and below to submit your IRB application. 

  1. Register and complete the CITI research ethics training: Social and Behavioral Research Basic OR the Biomedical Research Basic.
  2. If you have not completed a prior IRB application with the online system, first fill out the Cayuse Access Request Form.
  3. Submit your IRB application to the Cayuse online system. University network login required. 

Visit the IRB page on MyPacific for more resources. 

University IRB office: irb@pacific.edu

Pacific Dugoni IRB representatives: Drs. Didem Ozenen, Rebecca Moazzez, Cassio Silva.

This section features research highlights and publications by the dental school faculty, staff, and students. Contact: Dr. David Ojcius, Assistant Provost for Research, at dojcius@pacific.edu.

Other Resources

General resources

Dossier management support

Student rating of instruction

For questions, contact Office of Academic Affairs: Karinne Patchett (kpatchett@pacific.edu); Dr. Meixun Sinky Zheng (szheng@pacific.edu)

Peer observation of teaching

For questions, contact Dr. Meixun Sinky Zheng (szheng@pacific.edu).

  • Guidelines
  • Peer observation forms
  • Calibrated peer observers: Lory Laughter, Mustafa Radif, Homayon Asadi, Alan Gluskin, Terry Hoover, Gene LaBarre, Bernadette Fa, Mike Suh, Bina Surti, Parvati Iyer, Paul Subar, Rebecca Moazzez, Xiaoyuan Han, Austin Davies.
  • Interested in serving as a peer observer? Reach out to your department chair and/or Dr. Meixun Sinky Zheng. 

Promotion and tenure eligibility and review

Contact Dr. Didem Ozdemir Ozenen, Associate Dean for Oral Health Education, at  dozdemirozenen@pacific.edu.