A scoping review on the notions of Assessment as Learning (AaL), Assessment for Learning (AfL), and Assessment of Learning (AoL)

Associations between assessment and learning are widely studied and often organized around the notions of Assessment as Learning (AaL), Assessment for Learning (AfL), and Assessment of Learning (AoL). Although these notions are appealing in theory, the notions are unclear constructs to comprehend, as both their definitions and their practice are used inconsistently in educational research. We present a synthesis of common characteristics among these notions, based on a scoping review on definitions and descriptions of AaL, AfL, and AoL (131 studies). The synthesis of common characteristics consists of nine themes that refer to how educational assessment relates to learning. The themes are grouped into: 1) Student-teacher roles and relationships within assessment; 2) Assessment learning environment; and 3) Educational outcomes of assessment. Then, we used the themes within the synthesis to analyze the results of the included empirical studies on their contributions to practice (84 studies). The synthesis provides stakeholders with a clear and integrative view of how educational assessment relates to learning and may be beneficial to educators to support and design their assessment practices. We argue that the notions of AaL, AfL, and AoL should be seen in coherence with one another in order to establish an assessment culture that facilitates students’ learning maximally

Bridging the Gap between Undergraduate Veterinary Training and Veterinary Practice with Entrustable Professional Activities

The transition from being a veterinary student to becoming a member of the veterinary profession is known to be challenging. Despite being licensed directly after graduation, many veterinarians do not feel fully equipped to practice unsupervised when they graduate. The increasing rate of attrition from veterinary practice, and a relatively high percentage of burnout during the first years in practice, has been suggested to be related to a lack of early career support. Over the past decade, medical education has adopted the concept of entrustable professional activities (EPAs). Recently, EPAs have been proposed to restructure veterinary education to help support the transition from veterinary student to practicing veterinarian. Implementing an EPA-based approach could help to bridge the gap between school and clinical practice, potentially preventing veterinary graduates from dropping out early on from what could have been a promising and exciting professional career

The Development of Entrustable Professional Activities for Competency-Based Veterinary Education in Farm Animal Health

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are professional tasks that can be entrusted to a student under a given level of supervision once he or she has demonstrated competence in these tasks. The EPA construct was conceived to increase transparency in objectives for clinical workplace learning and to help ensure patient safety and the quality of care. A first step in implementing EPAs in a veterinary curriculum is to identify the core EPAs of the profession. The aim of this study was to develop EPAs for farm animal health. An initial set of 36 EPAs for farm animal health was prepared by a team of six veterinarians and curriculum developers and used in a modified Delphi study. In this iterative process, the EPAs were evaluated until higher than 80% agreement was reached. Of 83 veterinarians who participated, 39 (47%) completed the Delphi procedure. After two rounds, the panel reached consensus. A small expert group further refined and reorganized the EPAs for educational purposes into seven core EPAs fo..

The Development of Entrustable Professional Activities for Competency-Based Veterinary Education in Farm Animal Health

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are professional tasks that can be entrusted to a student under a given level of supervision once he or she has demonstrated competence in these tasks. The EPA construct was conceived to increase transparency in objectives for clinical workplace learning and to help ensure patient safety and the quality of care. A first step in implementing EPAs in a veterinary curriculum is to identify the core EPAs of the profession. The aim of this study was to develop EPAs for farm animal health. An initial set of 36 EPAs for farm animal health was prepared by a team of six veterinarians and curriculum developers and used in a modified Delphi study. In this iterative process, the EPAs were evaluated until higher than 80% agreement was reached. Of 83 veterinarians who participated, 39 (47%) completed the Delphi procedure. After two rounds, the panel reached consensus. A small expert group further refined and reorganized the EPAs for educational purposes into seven core EPAs fo..

Assessment Tools for Feedback and Entrustment Decisions in the Clinical Workplace: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) combine feedback and evaluation with a permission to act under a specified level of supervision and the possibility to schedule learners for clinical service. This literature review aims to identify workplace-based assessment tools that indicate progression toward unsupervised practice, suitable for entrustment decisions and feedback to learners. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in the PubMed, Embase, ERIC, and PsycINFO databases. Based on title/abstract and full text, articles were selected using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Information on workplace-based assessment tools was extracted using data coding sheets. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the medical education research study quality instrument (MERSQI). RESULTS: The search yielded 6,371 articles (180 were evaluated in full text). In total, 80 articles were included, identifying 67 assessment tools. Only a few studies explicitly mentioned assessment tools used as a resource for entrustment decisions. Validity evidence was frequently reported, and the MERSQI score was 10.0 on average. CONCLUSIONS: Many workplace-based assessment tools were identified that potentially support learners with feedback on their development and support supervisors with providing feedback. As expected, only few articles referred to entrustment decisions. Nevertheless, the exciting tools or the principals could be used for entrustment decisions, supervision level, or autonomy

Assessment Tools for Feedback and Entrustment Decisions in the Clinical Workplace: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) combine feedback and evaluation with a permission to act under a specified level of supervision and the possibility to schedule learners for clinical service. This literature review aims to identify workplace-based assessment tools that indicate progression toward unsupervised practice, suitable for entrustment decisions and feedback to learners. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in the PubMed, Embase, ERIC, and PsycINFO databases. Based on title/abstract and full text, articles were selected using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Information on workplace-based assessment tools was extracted using data coding sheets. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the medical education research study quality instrument (MERSQI). RESULTS: The search yielded 6,371 articles (180 were evaluated in full text). In total, 80 articles were included, identifying 67 assessment tools. Only a few studies explicitly mentioned assessment tools used as a resource for entrustment decisions. Validity evidence was frequently reported, and the MERSQI score was 10.0 on average. CONCLUSIONS: Many workplace-based assessment tools were identified that potentially support learners with feedback on their development and support supervisors with providing feedback. As expected, only few articles referred to entrustment decisions. Nevertheless, the exciting tools or the principals could be used for entrustment decisions, supervision level, or autonomy

Effect of a high-intensity one-week training programme and student-level variables on the bovine transrectal palpation and pregnancy diagnosis skills of final-year veterinary students

Background: To improve bovine transrectal palpation (TRP) and pregnancy diagnosis (PD) training, the effect of a high-intensity one-week training programme for veterinary elective students (N=59) with an interest in production animal practice was evaluated. Methods: Training consisted of exposure to rectal examination simulators, abattoir organs, theory materials and live cow PDs supervised by experienced large animal practitioners. Palpation skills were assessed before and after training using a validated TRP Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in non-pregnant cows. Each student then performed PDs (n=12) on cows of known pregnancy status. Students' PD accuracy was measured as sensitivity and specificity, being respectively defined as the proportion of pregnant and non-pregnant cows correctly identified. Results: Students' scores improved from the first to the second OSCE (P=0.03), mostly as a result of improved ability to identify uterine symmetry/asymmetry and the presence/absence of a corpus luteum on the right ovary (

Effect of a high-intensity one-week training programme and student-level variables on the bovine transrectal palpation and pregnancy diagnosis skills of final-year veterinary students

Background: To improve bovine transrectal palpation (TRP) and pregnancy diagnosis (PD) training, the effect of a high-intensity one-week training programme for veterinary elective students (N=59) with an interest in production animal practice was evaluated. Methods: Training consisted of exposure to rectal examination simulators, abattoir organs, theory materials and live cow PDs supervised by experienced large animal practitioners. Palpation skills were assessed before and after training using a validated TRP Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in non-pregnant cows. Each student then performed PDs (n=12) on cows of known pregnancy status. Students' PD accuracy was measured as sensitivity and specificity, being respectively defined as the proportion of pregnant and non-pregnant cows correctly identified. Results: Students' scores improved from the first to the second OSCE (P=0.03), mostly as a result of improved ability to identify uterine symmetry/asymmetry and the presence/absence of a corpus luteum on the right ovary (

A scoping review on the notions of Assessment as Learning (AaL), Assessment for Learning (AfL), and Assessment of Learning (AoL)

Associations between assessment and learning are widely studied and often organized around the notions of Assessment as Learning (AaL), Assessment for Learning (AfL), and Assessment of Learning (AoL). Although these notions are appealing in theory, the notions are unclear constructs to comprehend, as both their definitions and their practice are used inconsistently in educational research. We present a synthesis of common characteristics among these notions, based on a scoping review on definitions and descriptions of AaL, AfL, and AoL (131 studies). The synthesis of common characteristics consists of nine themes that refer to how educational assessment relates to learning. The themes are grouped into: 1) Student-teacher roles and relationships within assessment; 2) Assessment learning environment; and 3) Educational outcomes of assessment. Then, we used the themes within the synthesis to analyze the results of the included empirical studies on their contributions to practice (84 studies). The synthesis provides stakeholders with a clear and integrative view of how educational assessment relates to learning and may be beneficial to educators to support and design their assessment practices. We argue that the notions of AaL, AfL, and AoL should be seen in coherence with one another in order to establish an assessment culture that facilitates students’ learning maximally