Introduction
In recent years, formative assessment has gained importance in health care education to facilitate and enhance learning throughout the training period. Within the frame of active methodologies, rubrics have become an essential instrument for formative assessment. Most rubric-based assessment procedures focus on measuring the effects of rubrics on teachers. However, few studies focus their attention on the perception that students have of the evaluation process through rubrics.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey study was carried out with 134 students enrolled in the pre-graduate Physiotherapy education. Assessment of manual skills during a practical examination was performed using an e-rubric tool. Peer-assessment, self-assessment and teacher´s assessment were registered. After completion of the examination process, students’ perceptions, satisfaction and engagement were collected.
Results
Quantitative results related to students’ opinion about e-rubric based assessment, students’ engagement, perceived benefits and drawbacks of the e-rubric as well as the overall assessment of the learning experience were obtained. 86.6% of the students agreed upon the fact that “the rubric allowed one to know what it is expected from examination” and 83.6% of the students agreed upon the fact that “the rubric allowed one to verify the level of competence acquired”. A high rate of agreement (87.3%) was also reached among students concerning feedback.
Conclusions
E-rubrics seemed to have the potential to promote learning by making criteria and expectations explicit, facilitating feedback, self-assessment and peer-assessment. The importance of students in their own learning process required their participation in the assessment task, a fact that was globally appreciated by the students. Learning experience was considered interesting, motivating, it promoted participation, cooperative work and peer-assessment. The use of e-rubrics increased engagement levels when attention was focused on their guidance and reflection role.
Aim
Osteopathy and chiropractic techniques are used for babies for different reasons, but it is unclear how effective they are. The aim of this study was to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing crying time and increasing sleeping time in babies with infantile colic.
Methods
A systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted on infantile colic studies that used complementary and alternative medicine techniques as interventions. The outcome measures were hours spent crying and/or sleeping. We used the PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Osteopathic Medicine Digital Database and Google Scholar databases from inception to 11 November 2022.
Results
The methodological quality of the randomised control trials ranged from fair to high. We focused on five studies with 422 babies. Complementary treatments failed to decrease the crying time (mean difference −1.08, 95% CI: −2.17 to 0.01, I2 = 92%) and to increase sleeping time (mean difference 1.11, 95% CI: −0.20 to 2.41; I2: 91%), compared with no intervention. The quality of the evidence was rated as very low for both outcome measures.
Conclusion
Osteopathy and chiropractic treatment failed to reduce the crying time and increase sleeping time in babies with infantile colic, compared with no additional intervention.
INTRODUCTION
The Schroth method is one of the most common physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercises intervention applied in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). This method consists of three-dimensional correction of the specific curve pattern of the patient using a combination of sensorimotor, postural, and corrective breathing exercises. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to analyse the effects of the Schroth method in isolation on Cobb angle, quality of life, and trunk rotation angle compared to no intervention or other conservative treatments in patients with AIS.
EVIDENCE ACQUISITION
PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched. Studies were included if they were randomized controlled trials that compared the effects of the Schroth method in isolation to conservative interventions or no intervention. The quality of the studies was assessed with the PEDro Scale, and the risk of bias with the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Two independent assessors extracted data through a standardized form. Meta-analyses were conducted using fixed or random effects models according to the heterogeneity assessed with I
2
coefficient. Data on outcomes of interest were extracted by a researcher using RevMan 5.4 software.
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
A total of 317 studies were screened. Six were included in the meta-analysis involving 144 patients with AIS. The methodological quality of the included studies ranged from high to low. Schroth method in isolation showed significant improvements in Cobb angle (mean difference [MD] =-3.18º; 95% CI: -4.30, -2.07; I
2
: 0%), quality of life (MD=0.28; 95% CI: 0.18, 0.38; I
2
: 0%) and trunk rotation angle (MD=-2.12º; 95% CI: -3.44, -0.80; I
2
: 71%) in the short-term.
CONCLUSIONS
The Schroth method in isolation is effective for reducing the Cobb angle and the trunk rotation angle and for improving the QoL in the short-term compared to no intervention or other conservative therapies in AIS, but the improvement in Cobb angle did not exceed the minimum clinically important difference.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.