Dataset Information

Feedback Focused: A Learner- and Teacher-Centered Curriculum to Improve the Feedback Exchange in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Learners consistently report insufficient feedback, despite interventions to improve the quantity and quality of feedback. Effective feedback requires a dynamic partnership and a trusting relationship between students and teachers.

Methods

We developed and implemented a faculty and student program called Feedback Focused on the OB/GYN clerkship with learner- and faculty-centered teaching materials. We evaluated the curriculum's impact on the frequency and quality of feedback exchange through comparison of end-of-clerkship evaluations before and after implementing the Feedback Focused program and assessed student satisfaction from written responses on clerkship evaluations.

Results

A total of 1,912 feedback folio entries were recorded during the curriculum timeframe, representing an average of 19 entries per student. Of students, 85% turned in their feedback folios at the end of the clerkship. There was a marked increase in reported frequency of feedback with the initiative, with 28% of students reporting receiving feedback four or more times per month before the start of our program, compared to 64% after its completion. The percentage of students who reported faculty provided direction and constructive feedback always or very often remained roughly the same before and after the program (69% vs. 70%, respectively). Over 60% of students provided positive feedback on written open response questions.

Discussion

We successfully developed and implemented a multipronged approach to effectively change the learning environment culture within our OB/GYN clerkship program. Our evaluation demonstrated that the Feedback Focused program was well received and increased frequency of feedback.

SUBMITTER: Johnson NR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8015633 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundOngoing developments in medical education recognize the move to curricula that support self-regulated learning processes, skills of thinking, and the ability to adapt and navigate uncertain situations as much as the knowledge base of learners. Difficulties encountered in pursuing this reform, especially for pharmacology, include the tendency of beginner learners not to ask higher-order questions and the potential incongruency between creating authentic spaces for self-directed learning and providing external expert guidance. We tested the feasibility of developing, implementing, and sustaining an innovative model of social pedagogy as a strategy to address these challenges.MethodsConstructivism, communities of practice, and networked learning theory were selected as lenses for development of the model. Three hundred sixty-five first-year medical students participated between 2014 and 2018; they were introduced to pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics via 15 online modules that each included: learning objectives, a clinical vignette, teaching video, cumulative concept map, and small group wiki assignment. Five-person communities organized around the 15 wiki assignments were a key component where learners answered asynchronous, case-based questions that touched iteratively on Bloom's cognitive taxonomy levels. The social pedagogy model's wiki assignments were explored using abductive qualitative data analysis.ResultsQualitative analysis revealed that learners acquired and applied a conceptual framework for approaching pharmacology as a discipline, and demonstrated adaptive mastery by evaluating and interacting competently with unfamiliar drug information. Learners and faculty acquired habits of self-directed assessment seeking and learner-centered coaching, respectively; specifically, the model taught learners to look outward to peers, faculty, and external sources of information for credible and constructive feedback, and that this feedback could be trusted as a basis to direct performance improvement. 82-94% of learners rated the social pedagogy-based curriculum valuable.ConclusionsThis social pedagogy model is agnostic with regard to pharmacology and type of health professional learner; therefore, we anticipate its benefits to be transferable to other disciplines.