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Estimating learning outcomes from pre- and posttest student self-assessments: a longitudinal study.
- Source :
-
Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges [Acad Med] 2013 Mar; Vol. 88 (3), pp. 369-75. - Publication Year :
- 2013
-
Abstract
- Purpose: Learning outcome is an important measure for overall teaching quality and should be addressed by comprehensive evaluation tools. The authors evaluated the validity of a novel evaluation tool based on student self-assessments, which may help identify specific strengths and weaknesses of a particular course.<br />Method: In 2011, the authors asked 145 fourth-year students at Göttingen Medical School to self-assess their knowledge on 33 specific learning objectives in a pretest and posttest as part of a cardiorespiratory module. The authors compared performance gain calculated from self-assessments with performance gain derived from formative examinations that were closely matched to these 33 learning objectives.<br />Results: Eighty-three students (57.2%) completed the assessment. There was good agreement between performance gain derived from subjective data and performance gain derived from objective examinations (Pearson r=0.78; P<.0001) on the group level. The association between the two measures was much weaker when data were analyzed on the individual level. Further analysis determined a quality cutoff for performance gain derived from aggregated student self-assessments. When using this cutoff, the evaluation tool was highly sensitive in identifying specific learning objectives with favorable or suboptimal objective performance gains.<br />Conclusions: The tool is easy to implement, takes initial performance levels into account, and does not require extensive pre-post testing. By providing valid estimates of actual performance gain obtained during a teaching module, it may assist medical teachers in identifying strengths and weaknesses of a particular course on the level of specific learning objectives.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1938-808X
- Volume :
- 88
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 23348083
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e318280a6f6