Helping students bridge their cognitive competence gap: Effectiveness of a faculty development workshop on 'giving...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Microbiology Pedagogy
• Faculty Development

Background:

• National Medical Commission mandates regular undergraduate feedback, yet it's underutilized.
• Faculty cite time constraints and lack of training as barriers to providing feedback.
• This study addresses the need for effective feedback strategies in medical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of a faculty training workshop on the feedback process.
• To evaluate the impact of constructive feedback on bridging student learning gaps in microbiology.
• To measure faculty and student satisfaction with the feedback intervention.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-method study involving a faculty training workshop using the Kirkpatrick model.
• Sixty-two undergraduate students received feedback individually or in groups post-assessment.
• Student performance, learning gap awareness, and satisfaction indices were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Faculty reported high satisfaction with the training and feedback delivery.
• Significant student performance improvement observed post-feedback, particularly for lower-scoring students (median score increase from 4.5 to 7.5/10).
• 93.5% of students found feedback helpful in identifying and bridging learning gaps, desiring its continuation.

Conclusions:

• Faculty development workshops focusing on feedback are effective in improving student outcomes.
• Constructive feedback is a viable strategy for addressing learning gaps in undergraduate medical education.
• Implementing structured feedback processes can enhance student learning and satisfaction.