August 2017 ■ Journal of Dental Education 969 Allied Dental Education Effect of Faculty Development Activities on Dental Hygiene Faculty Perceptions of and Teaching About Motivational Interviewing: A Pilot Study Michelle Arnett, RDH, MS; Dina Korte, RDH, MS; Philip S. Richards, DDS, MS; Berna Saglik, DDS, MS; L. Susan Taichman, RDH, PhD; Janet S. Kinney, RDH, MS; Anne E. Gwozdek, RDH, MA Abstract: The aims of this pilot study were to assess dental hygiene faculty members’ perceptions of the importance of motiva- tional interviewing (MI) and their confdence in teaching students about MI and to determine the effect of MI training sessions on those perceptions. Participants were a convenience sample of all 16 dental hygiene faculty members who teach in the clinic at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Participants’ perceptions were assessed prior to a workshop in MI (pretest), imme- diately after the workshop (posttest 1), and eight months after the workshop, at the end of the academic year (posttest 2). During the same period, some of the workshop participants took part in team grading sessions of audio recordings of student-patient MI interactions. The results showed that the majority of the faculty members perceived it was important to personally embrace the overall spirit of MI during patient care, and they were confdent supporting students as well. Their ratings for embracing the spirit of MI increased from pretest to posttest 1, but slightly decreased at posttest 2. This trend was also seen in their assessment of the importance of and their confdence in teaching the eight MI strategies over time. Among the workshop participants, 56% were part of team grading; they reported the most helpful professional development activities overall were team grading (58%) and the workshop (25%). These results suggest the importance of making use of a variety of faculty development activities and of introducing appropriate follow-up to training sessions over time to ensure long-lasting effects. Future research using carefully designed, multi-institution, longitudinal studies is needed to determine the most effective ways to prepare dental hygiene faculty members to educate their students about MI. Ms. Arnett is a 2016 graduate of the Master of Science in Dental Hygiene Program and Adjunct Clinical Lecturer, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry; Ms. Korte is Adjunct Clinical Lecturer, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry; Dr. Richards is Clinical Professor, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry; Dr. Saglik is Clinical Associate Professor, Depart- ment of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry; Dr. Taichman is Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry; Prof. Kinney is Director of Dental Hygiene and Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry; and Prof. Gwozdek is retired Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Dental Hygiene Graduate and De- gree Completion Programs, Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Direct correspondence to Ms. Michelle Arnett, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, 1011 N. University, Room 3066, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; 734-718-5107; arnetmic@umich.edu. Keywords: dental hygiene education, allied dental education, motivational interviewing, faculty development Submitted for publication 11/8/16; accepted 2/28/17 doi: 10.21815/JDE.017.048 O ral diseases such as periodontal disease and caries can be prevented or reduced because, in addition to medical treatments, there is a complex relationship between an individual’s behav- ior and his or her lifestyle that may contribute to oral diseases. 1-4 As a result, there are evidence-based ap- proaches to support behavior change that are effective in chronic disease reduction. 1,3-8 Health professionals, including dental hygienists, need to understand health behavior theories and concepts in order to do their jobs effectively. 3,5,7,9-11 Advice-giving educational methods generally do not motivate patients and can potentially discourage them from making a change. 9,11 Croffoot et al. found that information provided by clinicians to patients was not substantial enough to cause a health behavior change. 10 In addition, Brand