Assessment in the interpersonal domain: Experiences from empathy assessment in medical education

Frameworks for the teaching and assessment of 21st-century skills commonly recognise the importance of learning and skill development in the interpersonal domain. They also usually acknowledge the challenge of reliably and validly assessing students in this domain. In the field of medical education and in selecting students for medical courses, the concept of empathy has become central to representing the particular interpersonal understandings and skills expected of students and practising doctors. Attempts to assess these attributes during medical training are just as challenging as in school contexts. This presentation draws on several years’ experience of working with medical educators to consider how empathy has been conceptualised, taught and assessed by educators. This analysis explores three common assessment approaches: self-report, performance examinations, and longitudinal observation and judgement in the clinical context. Each approach addresses important aspects of empathy and interpersonal skills. Each also has its limitations, although the self-report approach has emerged as the more widely known and used in medical education. Much still remains to be understood about making meaningful and valid use of observational judgements in the assessment of empathy, and, by extension, the interpersonal domain. In the meantime, useful guidance for teachers assessing interpersonal skills in the classroom may be found in alternative learning frameworks currently used in professional education that precede the 21st-century skills movement

Reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide: Oceans provide a huge opportunity for sequestration

The scientific community is fairly unified in their assessment of climatological change. It is happening primarily as the result of excess carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere produced by unrelenting world industrialization. If it continues unabated it will cause major physical changes to the earth that will dramatically alter how mankind lives. And, the world has until the middle of this century to cap CO2 levels short of where they will cause this irreversible change. For many experts involved in this issue, actively reducing existing CO2 levels is a necessary component for a total solution to the problem. This paper endeavors to outline potential technologies that promise to accomplish this

Wind as a sustainable energy source in australia

The goal of this study is to review the technology for wind energy generation and to then apply previously uncovered statistics to measure the feasibility of applying the technology to a specific location, in this case the continent and country of Australia. Aside from a purely numerical analysis, an assessment of sustainability impact will also be considered. Based on findings, the potential for capitalizing on wind energy the world over is enormous with Australia being one of the most suitable locations on the earth. A long term renewable energy implementation plan must be instituted for nations to achieve their own goals and those of the rest of the world. Once accepted as just another commercially viable way to produce electrical energy (but without the release of hydrocarbons), it becomes easy for society to rely more on wind power to support its lifestyle

Negatively-Worded Multiple Choice Questions: An Avoidable Threat to Validity

Despite the majority of MCQ writing guides discouraging the use of negatively-worded multiple choice questions (NWQs), they continue to be regularly used both in locally produced examinations and commercially available questions. There are several reasons why the use of NWQs may prove resistant to sound pedagogical advice. Nevertheless, systematic inspection of item-level analysis often reveals anomalous behavior of NWQs on high-stakes examinations, due to otherwise high-performing students selecting the incorrect option for those questions. Highlighting the negative term as commonly recommended does not prevent this, since both anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that many students answer the question as if it were positively phrased. The continued use of NWQs in high-stakes examinations poses a significant threat to the validity of interpretation based on these assessments. This is a form of ‘construct-irrelevant variance’ within the control of the item writer, and is therefore completely avoidable. Accessed 5,391 times on https://pareonline.net from May 04, 2017 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Rethinking assessment in response to generative artificial intelligence

The use of decision-making support tools during assessments, such as electronic differential diagnosis in examinations, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how technology is currently changing assessment practice. We have reached a transformative stage in the development of artificial intelligence (AI). We can no longer rely on non-invigilated assessments and submitted ‘artefacts’ to demonstrate student learning and competence. This is bringing many long-term demands on educators, course coordinators and curriculum designers, forcing us to rethink assessment approaches. Going forward, we see an important distinction between ‘assisted’ assessments and ‘unassisted’ assessments. With the recent increase and facilitation of virtual assessment through convenient online platforms, and the new challenge to non-invigilated assessment formats posed by AI, we think the time has come for the ‘rehabilitation’ and re-acceptance of the oral format as a highly valuable and unique form of assessment in medical education. Nevertheless, generative AI need not threaten the validity or trustworthiness of our assessments in either formative or summative contexts. Rather, it can add fidelity and nuance to assisted assessment while facilitating a greater focus and purposefulness to unassisted assessment

Summer Internship at African Community Education

My internship at African Community Education (ACE) took place from May to December 2015, where I worked with GISDE alum, Joshua Plisinski. My summer was split as a volunteer at ACE and GIS Analyst in partnership with a Worcester nonprofit Cultural Exchange Through Soccer (CETS). My duties at ACE included tutoring, mentoring, and leading the students in homework assignments and various recreational activities. I also completed several GIS tasks and instructed a GIS tutorial for the high school students of ACE. The other time during my summer was spent conducting a spatial network analysis of Worcester soccer fields for CETS and presenting my final aggregated report at Worcester City Hall to the Parks, Recreation, and Cemetery Division. The purpose of that report is to locate strategic areas in need of additional funds for the construction of proposed fields and improving existing fields. This internship report details the aim of ACE, the specific tasks conducted as a volunteer, and a review of the network analysis presented to the city of Worcester

Standard setting in Australian medical schools

Background: Standard setting of assessment is critical in quality assurance of medical programs. The aims of this study were to identify and compare the impact of methods used to establish the passing standard by the 13 medical schools who participated in the 2014 Australian Medical Schools Assessment Collaboration (AMSAC). Methods: A survey was conducted to identify the standard setting procedures used by participating schools. Schools standard setting data was collated for the 49 multiple choice items used for benchmarking by AMSAC in 2014. Analyses were conducted for nine schools by their method of standard setting and key characteristics of 28 panel members from four schools. Results: Substantial differences were identified between AMSAC schools that participated in the study, in both the standard setting methods and how particular techniques were implemented. The correlation between the item standard settings data by school ranged from − 0.116 to 0.632. A trend was identified for panel members to underestimate the difficulty level of hard items and overestimate the difficulty level of easy items for all methods. The median derived cut-score standard across schools was 55% for the 49 benchmarking questions. Although, no significant differences were found according to panel member standard setting experience or clinicians versus scientists, panel members with a high curriculum engagement generally had significantly lower expectations of borderline candidates (p = 0.044). Conclusion: This study used a robust assessment framework to demonstrate that several standard setting techniques are used by Australian medical schools, which in some cases use different techniques for different stages of their program. The implementation of the most common method, the Modified Angoff standard setting approach was found to vary markedly. The method of standard setting used had an impact on the distribution of expected minimally competent student performance by item and overall, with the passing standard varying by up to 10%. This difference can be attributed to the method of standard setting because the ASMSAC items have been shown over time to have consistent performance levels reflecting similar cohort ability. There is a need for more consistency in the method of standard setting used by medical schools in Australia

Systematic review of the literature on professional education accreditation

This report is critical and systematic review of the literature on professional education accreditation models, associated methods, and the effectiveness and impact of each model. The review was conducted to inform a review and update of the Royal College of Vetinerary Surgeons (RCVS) standards of accreditation for veterinary degrees. The purpose of the study was to rapidly appraise the evidence for the effectiveness, impact, and feasibility of different accreditation approaches, in order to inform best practices for the accreditation of professional education programs. The study focused on accreditation for programs which produce practice-ready graduates, including for veterinary programs. The authors searched several databases for articles published from 2000 to 2020, using search terms identified during a scoping phase, and applied a rapid review methodology in line with contextual, time, and resource requirements. The full-text review included 32 articles, from which a clear transition in the literature was seen from input- and process-based models (pre- and early 2000s) to outcomes-based models (in the 2000s and early 2010s). Continuous quality improvement and targeted models (including risk-based and thematic) represent more recent approaches in accreditation practice. However the review identified limited empirical evidence for the relative effectiveness of different accreditation approaches in professional education, although evidence for the more recent accreditation approaches is emerging

Pharmacological properties and chemical profiles of <em>Passiflora foetida</em> L. extracts: Novel insights for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals

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