Question-writing as a learning tool for students--outcomes from curricular exams

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Internal Medicine

Background:

• Student-generated multiple-choice questions can serve as a valuable learning tool.
• Investigated the impact of using student-written questions in Internal Medicine exams on learning habits and test performance.
• Hypothesized that a student question pool would foster discussion and enhance learning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the influence of student-constructed multiple-choice questions on medical students' learning habits and exam performance.
• To determine if this method benefits low-performing students or encourages collaborative learning.

Main Methods:

• Students constructed multiple-choice questions for Internal Medicine exams.
• A portion of exam questions were selected from a pool of at least 300 student-written questions.
• Web-based questionnaires assessed learning habits and student perceptions; test results were compared between high and low performers.

Main Results:

• Low-performing students showed significantly better results on questions from the student pool.
• No significant difference in question generation quantity between student performance groups.
• The method did not significantly enhance group work; high performers desired performance-based rewards.

Conclusions:

• Using student-generated questions in curricular exams did not significantly alter learning habits.
• The approach favored low-performing students but was not deemed appropriate due to high performers' desire for recognition.
• Further research may explore alternative methods to motivate all student performance levels.