Development and validation of an evaluation instrument for medical students in tutorials

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Assessment Tools
• Problem-Based Learning

Background:

• Medical education increasingly utilizes problem-based learning (PBL) curricula.
• Effective assessment of student skills and attitudes within PBL tutorials is crucial.
• Existing evaluation methods may lack standardization or comprehensiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Tutotest, the first standardized instrument for assessing medical students' skills and attitudes in PBL tutorials.
• To establish the reliability and validity of the Tutotest.

Main Methods:

• The Tutotest, a 44-item Likert-scale instrument, was developed through consultation with students and faculty.
• Tutors evaluated 100 first-year medical students across four curriculum units.
• Data analysis included reliability testing (Cronbach's alpha, split-half), factor analysis, and correlation with existing evaluations.

Main Results:

• Exploratory factor analysis identified four key factors: group effectiveness, communication/leadership, scientific curiosity, and respect for colleagues.
• The Tutotest demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .98, split-half = .98).
• Scores correlated well with global tutor evaluations (r=.64) and moderately with written exams (r=.39).

Conclusions:

• The Tutotest is a standardized, reliable, and valid instrument for evaluating medical students' skills and attitudes in tutorials.
• It provides a practical balance between overly simplistic and overly complex evaluation methods.
• The Tutotest can significantly enhance the quality of student assessment in PBL settings.