Formative assessment of procedural skills: students’ responses to the Objective Structured Clinical Examination and the Integrated Performance Procedural Instrument

Assessment of clinical skills is a critical element of undergraduate medical education. We compare a traditional approach to procedural skills assessment – the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) with the Integrated Performance Procedural Instrument (IPPI). In both approaches, students work through ‘stations’ or ‘scenarios’ undertaking defined tasks. In the IPPI, all tasks are contextualised, requiring students to integrate technical, communication and other professional skills. The aim of this study was to explore students’ responses to these two assessments. Third‐year medical students participated in formative OSCE and IPPI sessions on consecutive days. Although performance data were collected in both assessments, quantitative data are not presented here. Group interviews with students were conducted by independent researchers. Data were analysed thematically. The OSCE and the IPPI were both valued, but for different reasons. Preference for the OSCE reflected the format of the summative assessment. The IPPI was valued for the opportunity to practise patient‐centred care in a simulated setting which integrated technical, communication and other professional skills. We posit that scenario‐based assessments such as the IPPI reflect real‐world issues of patient‐centred care. Although the limitations of this study prevent wide extrapolation, we encourage curriculum developers to consider the influence of assessments on what and how their students learn.     

Changes in instructors' assessment thinking related to experimentation with new strategies

Formative assessment has been recognised as a critical element in teaching for conceptual development. A case study research design was employed to: (1) characterise the assessment thinking of three science instructors at a research‐based university; and (2) examine the complex relationship between instructor thinking and practice by encouraging experimentation with alternative assessment strategies. Interviews, reflective journals, field notes and course documents were the data sources used to create a single case study that documented the development of these university instructors’ assessment thinking during their experimentation with formative assessment strategies. Throughout two semesters of experimentation, the instructors’ assessment thinking became more sophisticated; they grew to view the purpose of assessment less as a summative activity used for the assignment of marks and more as a tool for diagnosing student learning. However, more sophisticated thinking was not associated with revisions in teaching practice based on formative assessment data. Further investigations are needed to more completely understand the nature of assessment thinking and how assessment thinking influences assessment practices. Implications for professional development of university‐level science instructors include personalised experiences through which instructors can become active participants in gathering evidence of student learning that promotes growth in assessment thinking.     

Designing biomimetic robots: iterative development of an integrated technology design curriculum

Educational technology research and development - In most middle schools, learning is segregated by discipline. Yet interdisciplinary approaches have been shown to cultivate creative thinking,...     

A Paradigm of Normal Birth: Teaching Through the Healthy Birth Practices

Debra McAllister, a childbirth educator with 9 years of experience as a labor and delivery nurse, provides commentary on how she teaches through the Six Healthy Birth Practices as a paradigm for normal birth.     

Is Peer Interaction Necessary for Optimal Active Learning?

Meta-analyses of active-learning research consistently show that active-learning techniques result in greater student performance than traditional lecture-based courses. However, some individual studies show no effect of active-learning interventions. This may be due to inexperienced implementation of active learning. To minimize the effect of inexperience, we should try to provide more explicit implementation recommendations based on research into the key components of effective active learning. We investigated the optimal implementation of active-learning exercises within a “lecture” course. Two sections of nonmajors biology were taught by the same instructor, in the same semester, using the same instructional materials and assessments. Students in one section completed in-class active-learning exercises in cooperative groups, while students in the other section completed the same activities individually. Performance on low-level, multiple-choice assessments was not significantly different between sections. However, students who worked in cooperative groups on the in-class activities significantly outperformed students who completed the activities individually on the higher-level, extended-response questions. Our results provide additional evidence that group processing of activities should be the recommended mode of implementation for in-class active-learning exercises.     

Identifying Key Features of Effective Active Learning: The Effects of Writing and Peer Discussion

We investigated some of the key features of effective active learning by comparing the outcomes of three different methods of implementing active-learning exercises in a majors introductory biology course. Students completed activities in one of three treatments: discussion, writing, and discussion + writing. Treatments were rotated weekly between three sections taught by three different instructors in a full factorial design. The data set was analyzed by generalized linear mixed-effect models with three independent variables: student aptitude, treatment, and instructor, and three dependent (assessment) variables: change in score on pre- and postactivity clicker questions, and coding scores on in-class writing and exam essays. All independent variables had significant effects on student performance for at least one of the dependent variables. Students with higher aptitude scored higher on all assessments. Student scores were higher on exam essay questions when the activity was implemented with a writing component compared with peer discussion only. There was a significant effect of instructor, with instructors showing different degrees of effectiveness with active-learning techniques. We suggest that individual writing should be implemented as part of active learning whenever possible and that instructors may need training and practice to become effective with active learning.     

Evaluation of a networked staff development strategy for departmental tutor trainers: benefits,limitations and future directions

As part of the 1997–1999 Teaching and Learning Enhancement Plan, the University of Queensland mandated that all its academic departments should conduct tutor training. The University's academic development unit, TEDI (the Teaching and Educational Development Institute) designed a network‐based staff development strategy for the development of departmental staff designated as tutor trainers. The strategy was known as the Tutor Training Network (TTN). This paper describes the strategy and reports on an evaluation of the Network programme. The data show that although it was very successful, the network‐based strategy has a limited lifespan. Nonetheless it is an effective strategy for wholesale staff development to support institution‐wide implementations of policy or changes in practice.     

Moving between literacy theory and practice with preservice teachers: Listening to their voices

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate two research questions: What literacy learning did preservice teachers experience through a Penpal Project embedded in an early literacy course? What sense did preservice teachers make of the Penpal Project?—with an overarching focus on bridging literacy theory with practice.

Data were gathered in a university classroom setting, situated in a small Western town, over a period of one school semester. Data methods and sources included videotaped participant observation during weekly penpal letter‐sharing, preservice teachers’ reflection journals, focus group interviews, and preservice teachers’ Penpal Project Summaries.

Patterns emerged from the data and were conceptualized under three broad categories: discourse, discovery and dilemmas. In the discourse category, cultivating relationships and learning through collaboration emerged as themes. Discoveries included meaning‐ and skill‐centered interpretations and professional learning. With regard to dilemmas, preservice teachers reported feelings of inadequacy in decoding their penpals’ letters, in finding topics to pique their penpals’ interests, and in making logical speculations.

Conclusions highlighted the importance of including field experiences in teacher education courses in order for preservice teachers to integrate early literacy theory and practice. A focus on forming relationships, working in collaboration with others, and acknowledging and solving challenges revealed added benefits for the preservice teachers, including a deeper understanding of young students’ early literacy development.