Assessment to Optimize Learning Strategies: A Qualitative Study of Student and Faculty Perceptions

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Learning Sciences
• Assessment Design

Background:

• Medical knowledge assessment formats influence student learning strategies and faculty teaching methods.
• Institutions are exploring innovative assessment strategies to align with learning sciences principles.
• Open-ended questions (OEQs) and multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are key components of medical education assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore medical student and faculty perceptions of a new assessment strategy using weekly formative quizzes (OEQs and MCQs) and summative OEQ examinations.
• To understand how this assessment format influences learning strategies and teaching practices in pre-clerkship medical education.
• To identify facilitators and barriers in implementing such an assessment strategy.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study employing semi-structured interviews with 16 second-year medical students and 10 faculty members.
• Thematic analysis of interview transcripts using a priori concepts from learning sciences.
• Focus on student preparation for quizzes/examinations and faculty approach to assessment creation and grading.

Main Results:

• Students and faculty perceived the assessment strategy as beneficial for prioritizing conceptual understanding and simulating clinical problem-solving.
• The approach fostered continuous improvement in learning and teaching for both students and faculty.
• Key facilitators and barriers to implementation were identified, alongside challenges and potential tradeoffs.

Conclusions:

• Weekly formative quizzes and summative OEQ examinations can effectively promote students' use of evidence-based learning strategies.
• Faculty reported improvements in their teaching quality and assessment practices.
• Successful implementation requires significant institutional resources and careful consideration of challenges and tradeoffs.