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Linking assessment questions to a research article to stimulate self-directed learning and develop high-order cognitive skills in an undergraduate module of molecular genetics.

ABSTRACT: Assessment plays a crucial role in the learning process, but current assessments focus on assessment of learning rather than assessment for learning. In this study, a novel method for open-book continuous assessment (CA) was developed. The aim was to encourage students to learn beyond the textbook by challenging students with questions linked to a research article. Research articles closely related to lecture contents were selected and released to students before the CA for perusal. CA questions were set at three different levels to assess conceptual understanding, application, and synthesis. The CA was administered to first-year undergraduate students majoring in life science as part of Molecular Genetics, a compulsory module. It contributed 10% of the student's grade for the module. Students' CA scores indicated that the majority could answer correctly all the questions. Students' feedback on the CA showed that most of them praised the CA model for its novelty, motivation, and application. Only a few criticized it due to its poor coverage of lecture contents. Overall, this CA went beyond the traditional role of assessments in the assignment of scores and stimulated curiosity and self-directed learning.

SUBMITTER: Wu J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2786279 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Linking assessment questions to a research article to stimulate self-directed learning and develop high-order cognitive skills in an undergraduate module of molecular genetics.

Wu Jinlu J

CBE life sciences education 20090101 4

Assessment plays a crucial role in the learning process, but current assessments focus on assessment of learning rather than assessment for learning. In this study, a novel method for open-book continuous assessment (CA) was developed. The aim was to encourage students to learn beyond the textbook by challenging students with questions linked to a research article. Research articles closely related to lecture contents were selected and released to students before the CA for perusal. CA questions ...[more]

PMID: 19952097

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Project description:Background:Virtual patients are a recent addition to the educational arsenal to develop non-technical skills in undergraduate health professionals. The Virtual Simulated Patient Resource (www.vspr.net.au) is a web-based resource that uses branching, narrative virtual patients to develop knowledge, attitude and practice of all categories of non-technical skills in undergraduate health professionals. However, there is limited literature exploring how the interaction with a virtual patient influences the development of knowledge, attitude and practice of non-technical skills in undergraduate nursing students. Methods:An intrinsic case study method, using focus groups and individual interviews, enabled exploration of the experience of undergraduate nursing students when interacting with a virtual patient to develop non-technical skills. Purposive sampling identified participants to address the research question. Framework analysis supported by a codebook enabled deductive and inductive data analysis. Results:Forty-five first-year and 31 third-year students consented to participate. Findings indicated that the different years interacted differently with the virtual patients. Four themes were recognised in the data: how the virtual patients enabled learning non-technical skills, learning surrounding the virtual patient encounter, changing the way students perceive practice and potential limitations to learning. Conclusions:Interactions with virtual patients influence learning knowledge, attitudes and practice of non-technical skills in undergraduate nursing students via authenticity in the virtual patient interaction, socialisation to the professional role, vicarious learning and learning by making mistakes. Potential limitations to learning from virtual patient interactions include fear, overconfidence, groupthink and confusion. To manage limitations to learning, facilitation approaches, opportunities for reflection, constructive feedback and debriefing may be key. This study demonstrates learning non-technical skills via interactions with virtual patients can change the way students perceive practice, with learning transferable to the clinical setting to support safe and competent patient care.

Project description:BackgroundTutored laboratorial activities could be a manner of improving the competency development of students. However, its impact over conventional theoretical classes has not yet been tested. Additionally, different university contexts could influence this issue and should be explored.ObjectiveTo assess the impact of a tutored theoretical-practical training for teaching undergraduate students to detect caries lesions as compared with theoretical teaching activities. The impact of these teaching/learning activities will be assessed in terms of efficacy, cost/benefit, retention of knowledge/acquired competences, and student acceptability.MethodsSixteen centers (7 centers from Brazil and 9 centers from other countries throughout the world) are involved in the inclusion of subjects for this protocol. A randomized controlled study with parallel groups will be conducted. One group (control) will be exposed to a 60- to 90-minute conventional theoretical class and the other group (test) will be exposed to the same theoretical class and also a 90-minute laboratory class, including exercises and discussions based on the evaluation of a pool of images and extracted teeth. The mentioned outcomes will be evaluated immediately after the teaching activities and also in medium- and long-term analyses. To compare the long-term outcomes, students who enrolled in the university before the participating students will be interviewed for data collection and these data will be used as a control and compared with the trained group. This stage will be a nonrandomized phase of this study, nested in the main study. Appropriate statistical analysis will be performed according to the aims of this study. Variables related to the centers will also be analyzed and used to model adjustment as possible sources of variability among results.ResultsThis ongoing study is funded by a Brazilian national funding agency (CNPq- 400736/2014-4). We expect that the tutored theoretical-practical training will improve the undergraduate students' performance in the detection of caries lesions and subsequent treatment decisions, mainly in terms of long-term retention of knowledge. Our hypothesis is that tutored theoretical-practical training is a more cost-effective option for teaching undergraduate students to detect caries lesions.ConclusionsIf our hypothesis is confirmed, the use of laboratory training in conjunction with theoretical classes could be used as an educational strategy in Cariology to improve the development of undergraduate students' skills in the detection of caries lesions and clinical decision-making.

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Linking assessment questions to a research article to stimulate self-directed learning and develop high-order cognitive skills in an undergraduate module of molecular genetics.

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Linking assessment questions to a research article to stimulate self-directed learning and develop high-order cognitive skills in an undergraduate module of molecular genetics.

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