Assessment of medical courses in Brazil using student-completed questionnaires. Is it reliable?

Rapid Feedback: Assessing Pre-clinical Teaching in the Era of Online Learning

INTRODUCTION

Medical schools vary in their approach to providing feedback to faculty. The purpose of this study was to test the effects of rapid student feedback in a course utilizing novel virtual learning methods.

METHODS

Second-year medical students were supplied with an optional, short questionnaire at the end of each class session and asked to provide feedback within 48 h. At the close of each survey, results were emailed to faculty. After the course, students and faculty were asked to rate the effectiveness of this method. This study did not affect administration of the usual end-of-course summative evaluations.

RESULTS

Ninety-one percent of students who participated noted increased engagement in the feedback process, but only 18% on average chose to participate. Faculty rated rapid feedback as more actionable than summative feedback (67%), 50% rated it as more specific, and 42% rated it as more helpful. Some wrote that comments were too granular, and others noted a negative personal emotional response.

CONCLUSION

Rapid feedback engaged students, provided actionable feedback, and increased communication between students and instructors, suggesting that this approach added value. Care must be taken to reduce the student burden and support relational aspects of the process.

Individual class evaluation and effective teaching characteristics in integrated curricula

BACKGROUND

In an integrated curriculum, multiple instructors take part in a course in the form of team teaching. Accordingly, medical schools strive to manage each course run by numerous instructors. As part of the curriculum management, course evaluation is conducted, but a single, retrospective course evaluation does not comprehensively capture student perception of classes by different instructors. This study aimed to demonstrate the need for individual class evaluation, and further to identify teaching characteristics that instructors need to keep in mind when preparing classes.

METHODS

From 2014 to 2015, students at one medical school left comments on evaluation forms after each class. Courses were also assessed after each course. Their comments were categorized by connotation (positive or negative) and by subject. Within each subject category, test scores were compared between positively and negatively mentioned classes. The Mann-Whitney U test was performed to test group differences in scores. The same method was applied to the course evaluation data.

RESULTS

Test results for course evaluation showed group difference only in the practice/participation category. However, test results for individual class evaluation showed group differences in six categories: difficulty, main points, attitude, media/contents, interest, and materials. That is, the test scores of classes positively mentioned in six domains were significantly higher than those of negatively mentioned classes.

CONCLUSIONS

It was proved that individual class evaluation is needed to manage multi-instructor courses in integrated curricula of medical schools. Based on the students' extensive feedback, we identified teaching characteristics statistically related to academic achievement. School authorities can utilize these findings to encourage instructors to develop effective teaching characteristics in class preparation.

Research publications in the field of health: omission of hypotheses and presentation of common-sense conclusions

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE

Medical literature should consist of knowledge applicable to professional education; nevertheless, the profusion of articles in databases provokes disquiet among students. The authors considered the premise that scientific production in the field of health follows a mechanical description of phenomena without the clarity of motivating questions. The aim was to interpret material from expert reports, applied by medical students to analyze articles from renowned journals.

DESIGN AND SETTING

This research project was exploratory, searching for latent meanings regarding methodological problems in a sample of papers. It was performed in a Brazilian medical school.

METHODS

The sample was intentionally built, consisting of articles related to original research in the field of health, published over the previous five years. The results came from text content analysis, performed by a professor and his medical students.

RESULTS

(1) Failure to state a hypothesis is an equivocal practice: articles did not show clarity of hypothesis to demonstrate that their authors had epistemological knowledge of the methods chosen. (2) There is a certain belief that in normal scientific practice, hypotheses are unnecessary: studies without explicit hypotheses led to suppositions that they merely repeat dominant models. (3) Presentation of common sense as scientific conclusions: research brings together what would have mobilized the researchers initially.

CONCLUSIONS

Absence of formal hypotheses leaves scientific production vulnerable when put under epistemological discussion. Conclusions from scientific articles are often confounded with common-sense statements. Quantitative research is suggested, for studying the frequency of occurrence of these dubious methodological points.

Evaluation of training of trainers courses for Oromia (Ethiopia) health professional schools' tutors*

BACKGROUND

In Ethiopia training tutors in the health system are part of a major health programme. A previous study disclosed that tutors felt they lacked sufficient teaching skills.

AIM

The Teaching Methodology Course (TMC) described here was designed to correct these deficiencies. The aim of the study was firstly to evaluate the usefulness of questionnaires in terms of TMC quality control and secondly to evaluate whether the subcourses differed in terms of self-progress evaluation and course evaluation.

CONTENT

The TMC consists of eight subcourses and is evaluated according to a quality circle described previously.

METHODS

Two questionnaires were used as part of the TMC quality control, one to assess tutors' self-progress and the other to examine tutors' opinion about the course instructors' pre-defined teaching skills.

RESULTS

In the questionnaires a distinction was made between 'good' and 'bad' subcourses. Moreover, the quantitative evaluation of subcourses was in accord with the tutors' written qualitative comments.

CONCLUSION

The questionnaires can be used for TMC quality control in order to improve at least some subcourses.