Pl. Schwartz et al., PILOT-STUDIES OF IN-COURSE ASSESSMENT FOR A REVISED MEDICAL CURRICULUM - I - PAPER-BASED, WHOLE CLASS, Academic medicine, 72(12), 1997, pp. 1109-1112
Citations number
9
Categorie Soggetti
Medicine, General & Internal","Education, Scientific Disciplines","Medical Informatics
Purpose. To test a paper-based method of in-course assessment for a mo
dular, systems-oriented medical curriculum at the University of Otago
Medical School. Method. In 1996, 193 students took paper-based quizzes
on the first four topics of a course in clinical biochemistry. A scor
e of 75% was required for passing, but students could retake quizzes.
The subsequent test on these four topics was constructed from question
s used in previous years. The next four topics were taught without qui
zzes. The test on these topics was again constructed from questions us
ed in past years. The authors examined the performances on the quizzes
and tests and sought the students' opinions about the program. Result
s. 72.0-95.3% of the students passed the quizzes the first time and 94
.8-99.5% passed by the second version. Performance on the subsequent t
est items was higher when the items had been used previously; so was p
erformance on three of the four questions for the next four topics, no
ne of which had been accompanied by quizzes. Students valued the quizz
es as a stimulus to study and as feedback. They preferred the segment
of the course with the quizzes to the segment without them. Conclusion
. This method of in-course assessment was easy to administer and highl
y acceptable to the students. Performance on the quizzes was more than
satisfactory and a passing score of 75% was reasonable. Such quizzes
appeared to be able to replace a test that required explanation of ans
wers while increasing the numbers of questions that could be asked and
decreasing the marking time.