Using an online formative assessment framework to enhance student engagement: a learning outcomes approach

Students learn best when they are fully engaged in the learning process, are motivated to test their current level of learning against known standards, and are offered targeted and timely support to help address subsequent personal learning needs. The most usual way to do this is through the use of assessment, but this in itself can act as an overbearing influence on what and how students learn, rather than providing an holistic support mechanism that encourages continuous reflective learning. Summative assessment provides a quantitative measure of learning at specific points in time, but may not encourage students to focus on specific strengths and weaknesses in need of attention. Formative assessment can provide specific reflective and feed-forward support, but given the time-poor nature of many students, is this perceived as a useful part of the learning process? This paper presents an overview of work in progress (funded by Centre for Open Learning in Maths, Science, Computing and Technology CETL at The Open University), on the development and implementation of an online interactive formative assessment framework, that has designed from a constructivist perspective, to promote student engagement and understanding of academic progression, using an learning outcomes approach. The framework specifically aims to enhance student awareness, understanding and recognition of competency levels, and to allow testing of ongoing academic progress at predetermined and self-selected points throughout the year. Each assessment makes explicit links to other components of the course including the summative assessment strategy, as a means of providing an integrated approach to learning. By working through the formative assessments it is hoped that students will become more self-directed and confident in their learning skills and abilities, which in turn should improve retention. The framework uses OpenMark (a web-based system developed within the Open University) in which students have up to three attempts to correctly answer each question, and are offered instantaneous and targeted feedback after each incorrect attempt. The system collects information on the answers submitted, and the time taken to complete each question, offering valuable insight into how (and which) students are engaging with the assessment and course materials. This data permits new targeted feedback to be added in response to common errors, as well as additional support mechanisms to be incorporated in response to specific skills or content that is poorly demonstrated. All feedback in the framework is formative, commenting on how well each of the learning outcomes tested over a period of study has been demonstrated, as well as the overall level of academic competency attained at that point in time. At present, the framework encompasses seven interactive assessments (linked to fortnightly periods of study), consisting of ten variable-format questions (set at two levels of academic complexity). A planned eighth assessment will randomly select questions from preceding assessments, offering an instantaneous interactive revision tool. Preliminary results indicate that students not only rate the assessments as enjoyable, but are revisiting specific assessments as a means of enhancing previous outcomes and checking their progression on aspects they previously had difficulties with

Twelve tips for teaching brief motivational interviewing to medical students

Background: Shifting from paternalistic to patient-centred doctor-patient relationships has seen a growing number of medical programs incorporate brief motivational interviewing training in their curriculum. Some medical educators, however, are unsure of precisely what, when, and how to incorporate such training. Aims: This article provides educators with 12 tips for teaching brief motivational interviewing to medical students, premised on evidence-based pedagogy. Methods: Tips were drawn from the literature and authors’ own experiences. Results: The 12 tips are: (1) Set clear learning objectives, (2) Select experienced educators, (3) Provide theoretical perspectives, (4) Share the evidence base, (5) Outline the “spirit”, principles, and sequence, (6) Show students what it looks like, (7) Give students a scaffold to follow, (8) Provide opportunities for skill practice, (9) Involve clinical students in teaching, (10) Use varied formative and summative assessments, (11) Integrate and maintain, and (12) Reflect and evaluate. Conclusions: We describe what to include and why, and outline when and how to teach the essential components of brief motivational interviewing knowledge and skills in a medical curriculum

Can acquisition of expertise be supported by technology?

Professional trainees in the workplace are increasingly required to demonstrate specific standards of competence. Yet, empirical evidence of how professionals acquire competence in practice is lacking. The danger, then, is that efforts to support learning processes may be misguided. We hypothesised that a systemic view of how expertise is acquired would support more timely and appropriate development of technology to support workplace learning. The aims of this study were to provide an empirically based understanding of workplace learning and explore how learning could be facilitated through suitable application of technology. We have used the medical specialist trainee as an exemplar of how professionals acquire expertise within a complex working environment. We describe our methodological approach, based on the amalgam of systems analysis and qualitative research methods. We present the development of a framework for analysis and early findings from qualitative data analysis. Based on our findings so far, we present a tentative schema representing how technology can support learning with suggestions for the types of technology that could be used

Well rounded Postdoctoral Researchers with initiative, who are not always “tied to the bench” are more successful academically

This article reports the development, application and results of a baseline investigation of contract research staff in 2007 in the Medical School at the University of Sheffield which was carried out in order to develop a specifically tailored training and career development programme and allow for future impact evaluation of the scheme. Postdoctoral researchers reported on their perceived skill levels, academic achievements, career motivations and the current research environment. Results indicated that transferable skills related to communication and awareness of the process of research (i.e. the process of acquisition of funding, commercialisation of research outputs) were lacking. Furthermore, these skills were associated with higher publication outputs, and improved with mobility between institutions at postdoctoral level. This paper also describes how the findings from the baseline evaluation were used to develop a programme to address the lower ranking skills and evaluate the impact of the programme

Measuring the Circle: Emerging Trends in Philanthropy for First Nations

The Circle had the opportunity to undertake a multi-part research project to gain a more robust understanding of non-governmental funding to Aboriginal beneficiaries and causes in Canada over the past few years. The year-long knowledge gathering process included three inter-related activities: (a) mining Canada Revenue Agency data to map the Aboriginal funding economy in Canada from 2005 to 2011; (b) a set of Key Informant interviews with representatives from a sample of grantmakers surfaced through the mapping activity; and (c) a series of case studies to showcase some leading funders in the Aboriginal funding sphere or initiatives dedicated to building community capacity as well as supporting Aboriginal beneficiaries and causes. This report contains the key findings from the three-part research initiative

Pharmacy students' perceptions toward peer assessment and its use in teaching patient presentation skills.

Background and purposeConducting peer assessment has been associated with positive learning outcomes in higher education. The primary objective was to evaluate pharmacy students' perceptions of using peer assessment as a pedagogical strategy in learning patient presentation skills. Secondary objectives were to determine helpful factors for providing and/or receiving peer assessment and to compare students' perceptions of peer assessment relative to receiving feedback from teaching assistants (TAs).Educational activity and settingPatient presentation skills were taught to third-year pharmacy students in three sessions (session 1: didactic lecture, session 2: faculty-led patient presentation workshops followed by peer assessment, session 3: one-on-one patient presentations to TAs). An anonymous survey instrument consisting of five-point Likert scale, yes/no, and open-ended questions was administered.FindingsA total of 187 students (98%) completed the survey. Peer assessment was perceived as a useful way to obtain feedback on patient presentations (87%). It facilitated higher level thinking and a self-reflection of students' own patient presentations. Most students felt that they received constructive feedback from peers (82%) that helped them improve their patient presentation skills (72%). However, students were more trusting of TAs' skills in assessing patient presentations (76% versus 93%, p < 0.001). Some students were concerned about the specificity and criticalness of feedback they received from peers.SummaryPeer assessment is a useful pedagogical strategy for providing formative feedback to students in learning patient presentations skills in the classroom setting. Students may benefit from additional training to improve the quality of feedback in peer assessment

Unemployment Among Young Adults: Exploring Employer-Led Solutions

Younger workers consistently experience higher unemployment and less job stability than older workers. Yet the dramatic deterioration in employment outcomes among younger workers during and since the Great Recession creates new urgency about developing more effective bridges into full-time employment for young people, especially those with less than a bachelor's degree. Improving the employment status of young adults and helping employers meet workforce needs are complementary goals. Designing strategies to achieve them requires insight into the supply and demand sides of the labor market: both the characteristics of young people and their typical routes into employment as well as the demand for entry-level orkers and the market forces that shape employer decisions about hiring and investing in skill development. A quantitative and qualitative inquiry focused on the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Ill. and Louisville, Ky