Developing assessment: involving the sessional clinical teacher

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Dental Education
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Assessment development is crucial for demonstrating educational standards but is resource-intensive.
• The General Dental Council (GDC) in the UK defines the 'safe beginner' standard for dental graduates.
• Current assessment development processes face challenges in authenticity, validity, and reliability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an approach for developing assessments in dental education.
• To address the challenges of creating authentic, valid, and reliable assessments.
• To explore the potential contribution of sessional clinical teachers to assessment development.

Main Methods:

• Implementing active timetable management to identify opportunities for teacher involvement.
• Engaging sessional clinical teachers, who supervise BDS students and understand the 'safe beginner' concept.
• Focusing on assessment writing, validation, standard-setting, and utilization.

Main Results:

• Identified sessional clinical teachers as a valuable resource for assessment development.
• Demonstrated that active timetable management can create time for teacher contributions.
• Highlighted the potential for enhanced assessment quality through teacher involvement.

Conclusions:

• Including sessional clinical teachers in assessment development is realistic and beneficial.
• Requires investment in manpower planning and training for sessional staff.
• This approach can improve the quality and relevance of dental education assessments.