Medical students create multiple-choice questions for learning in pathology education: a pilot study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pathology
• Learning Technologies

Background:

• Medical students require study resources aligned with high-stakes exams and analytical skill development.
• Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are common but can encourage surface learning.
• Creating MCQs demands in-depth knowledge and analytical thinking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot an MCQ-writing task for medical students to enhance learning.
• To assess the feasibility and acceptability of students creating MCQs for peers.
• To determine if the task promoted desirable learning behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Fourth-year anatomic pathology students (N=106) wrote MCQs using PeerWise.
• Students created MCQs for four topic areas, which peers answered and rated.
• A survey assessed the activity's acceptability, feasibility, and impact on learning behaviors.

Main Results:

• Students generated cognitively challenging MCQs, with 74% requiring application or analysis.
• Most surveyed students (N=62) perceived little educational value in the task.
• Students found PeerWise user-friendly and engaged in self-evaluation but not extensive peer feedback.

Conclusions:

• The MCQ writing task is feasible and promotes self-evaluation and synthesis of information.
• The task was not well-accepted and did not strongly foster peer learning.
• While promoting deep learning, the task's burden and lack of trust in peer quality require improvement for better student acceptance.