Involving students in question writing: a unique feedback with fringe benefits

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physiology Teaching
• Assessment Methods

Background:

• Undergraduate medical education requires effective assessment tools.
• Developing high-quality multiple-choice questions (MCQs) is a crucial skill for educators.
• Assertion-reasoning type (Type E) MCQs can assess higher-order thinking in physiology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a student-led question-writing contest in a medical physiology course.
• To assess the quality and utility of student-generated assertion-reasoning MCQs.
• To explore the contest's impact on student learning and instructor insights.

Main Methods:

• A contest was organized for undergraduate medical students to write assertion-reasoning MCQs in physiology.
• Submitted questions were graded on a 0-5 scale for thematic novelty and construct correctness.
• Participation rates and the number of submitted questions were recorded.

Main Results:

• 37 out of 100 students participated, submitting 912 questions.
• The contest encouraged critical engagement with physiological concepts.
• Student questions offered insights into learning habits and misconceptions, aiding tutorial discussions.
• Despite errors, modified questions contributed to a substantial question bank.

Conclusions:

• Student-led MCQ writing contests are a valuable tool in medical physiology education.
• This approach enhances critical thinking and provides formative feedback for both students and instructors.
• The generated questions, after refinement, significantly contribute to faculty assessment resources.