Objectives: Peer assessment (PA) is believed to support learning and help students develop both professionally and personally. The aim of this study was to examine medical students' perceptions of intragroup PA in a problem-based learning (PBL) setting. Methods: This study was carried out between September and November 2014 and involved six random groups of fourth-year undergraduate medical students (n = 60) enrolled at the Arabian Gulf University in Manama, Bahrain. While working on set tasks within a curriculum unit, each student evaluated a randomly selected peer using an English language adapted assessment tool to measure responsibility and respect, information processing, critical analysis, interaction and collaborative skills. At the end of the unit, students' perceptions of PA were identified using a specifically-designed voluntary and anonymous selfadministered questionnaire in English. Results: A total of 55 students participated in the study (response rate: 92%). The majority of students reported that their learning (60%), attendance (67%), respect towards group members (70%) and participation in group discussions (71%) improved as a result of PA. Regarding problem analysis skills, most participants believed that PA improved their ability to analyse problems (65%), identify learning needs (64%), fulfil tasks related to the analysis of learning needs (72%) and share knowledge within their group (74%). Lastly, a large proportion of students reported that this form of assessment helped them develop their communication (71%) and self-assessment skills (73%), as well as collaborative abilities (75%). Conclusion: PA was well accepted by the students in this cohort and led to self-reported improvements in learning, skills, attitudes, engagement and other indicators of personal and professional development. PA was also perceived to have a positive impact on intragroup attitudes.

Background: Amongst all other educational institutions, medical schools suffered the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical education requires a great deal of interaction between instructors and students, and in the final years, patients as well. In response to the pandemic, the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences at the Arabian Gulf University has applied virtual teaching/ learning since March 2020 as an alternative to face-to-face teaching. The college used Moodle and Zoom as online methods for education. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual medical education by comparing students’ performance in final exams in face-to-face and virtual settings. Methods: Following the college’s ethical approval, this longitudinal study was performed on 183 medical students. Those students experienced 2 different successive methods of teaching/learning; Unit V as face-to-face followed by Unit VI as virtual settings. Students’ performance in theoretical component of the final exams for both units was analyzed and compared. Results: There was no significant difference in student performance between Units V and VI. Students’ performance in the physiology part was equally effective in both units, while the difficulty index of both exams was insignificantly different. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that students’ performance in final exams could serve as an objective parameter when comparing different educational settings. Our results also support the idea that, in certain aspects, virtual is equal to face-to-face medical education strategies.

The Arabian Gulf University (AGU) is a regional university serving the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. One of the most distinguished features of the MD program at AGU is problem based learning curriculum where teaching and learning of basic medical sciences are delivered through nine integrated organ system based units. At the end of each unit, medical students are required to pass a comprehensive end unit exam, where multiple formats of assessment are currently used This retrospective study compared the performance of year II medical students in multiple choice (MCQ) and short answer integrated questions (SAQ) of the end unit I examination The grades of three cohorts (471 students) were analyzed. The average score was 69.8(±SD 12.) in the MCQ component and 65.5 (± SD 13.7) in the SAQ component. Regression analysis showed a significant correlation (r=0.819, P< 0.000) between MCQ and SAQ.. when students performance was grouped by final end unit grade, a significant correlation existed between MCQ and SAQ score for 40 students who failed the end unit exam, 234 students who received a passing or a good score and for 132 students who received a very good score A positive but none significant correlation existed between the MCQ score and the SAQ score for students who received an excellent grade in the end unit exam. Finally two ANOVA revealed that MCQ scores were higher than (P < 0.01) SAQ scores for all groups. The results of this study showed that for most students, there is strong correlation between MCQ and SAQ scores, indicating that student performance was independent of testing format.Support or Funding InformationArabain Gulf UniversityThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Background: Amongst all other educational institutions, medical schools suffered the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical education requires a great deal of interaction between instructors and students, and in the final years, patients as well. In response to the pandemic, the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences at the Arabian Gulf University has applied virtual teaching/ learning since March 2020 as an alternative to face-to face teaching. The college used Moodle and Zoom as online methods for education. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual medical education by comparing students’ performance in final exams in face-to-face and virtual settings. Methods: Following the college’s ethical approval, this longitudinal study was performed on 183 medical students. Those students experienced 2 different successive methods of teaching/learning; Unit V as face-to-face followed by Unit VI as virtual settings. Students’ performance in theoretical component of the final exams for both units was analyzed and compared. Results: There was no significant difference in student performance between Units V and VI. Students’ performance in the physiology part was equally effective in both units, while the difficulty index of both exams was insignificantly different. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that students’ performance in final exams could serve as an objective parameter when comparing different educational settings. Our results also support the idea that, in certain aspects, virtual is equal to face-to-face medical education strategies.