Assessment during Covid-19: quality assurance of an online open book formative examination for undergraduate medical students

Rehman, Javeria; Ali, Rahila; Afzal, Azam; Shakil, Sara; Sultan, Amber Shamim; Idrees, Romana; Fatima, Syeda Sadia

doi:10.1186/s12909-022-03849-y

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Additionally, it is noteworthy that, Rehman et al [23] obtained similar results. The open-book examination was highly discriminatory between high-performing and low-performing students as the majority of the items were found to have moderate [index ranging from 16 to 30) to high discrimination indices of more than 30.…”

Section: Discrimination Powermentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Additionally, the use of open-book exams in distance education offers flexibility and adaptability. This approach enhances the learning experience, promoting active engagement with the content [23]. Moreover, open-book exams often necessitate continuous engagement with the course material, reinforcing the principles of active learning.…”

Section: Response To the Digital Era And The Pandemic Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolving Assessment in Medical Education: Exploring the Role of Open-Book Examinations

Ahmed,

Khayal,

Wadi

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The landscape of medical education has witnessed significant transformations over the past decades, particularly with the advent of active teaching methodologies. However, despite these advancements, the traditional theoretical assessment methods have remained largely unchanged. This lack of evolution in assessment systems poses a challenge, as it is crucial for assessment methods to evolve in tandem with teaching approaches to ensure a comprehensive and effective learning process in medical education. This paper reviews the integration and effectiveness of open-book examinations (OBEs) in medical education, reflecting their growing significance. An integrative review of the literature was conducted, drawing from a range of relevant publications over the last decade, sourced from databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC. The inclusion criteria focused on full-text articles in English, with search terms including "medicine," "assessment," "open book examination," "open book exam," and "open book assessment," combined using Boolean operators. Thirteen publications were selected and critically appraised using The Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist. The analysis identified three primary thematic categories: ' Teaching Strategy for Pandemic and Challenging Conditions,” Tool of Learning & Educational Impact” and “Operational Challenges & Future Directions”. These themes were explored to understand the role and impact of OBEs in medical education. The findings indicate that open-book examinations are a crucial component in the evolving landscape of medical education. While certain reservations remain, OBEs have shown significant potential in fostering critical thinking, argumentation skills, and lifelong learning among medical students. They reflect the ongoing evolution of knowledge in the medical field and contribute to the development of professionals’ adept at navigating and applying complex information. Further research is recommended to solidify these findings and to expand the understanding of OBEs in medical education.

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Section: Discrimination Powermentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Response To the Digital Era And The Pandemic Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

Evolving Assessment in Medical Education: Exploring the Role of Open-Book Examinations

Ahmed,

Khayal,

Wadi

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…OBEs are expected to be easier, given that they do not assess students' memorization capacity and enable students to find answers stress-free [ 29 ]. In addition, students perceive OBEs as an easy exam with reduced anxiety [ 7 ] since the accessible consulting of authorized resources enables the students to find the answers, ideally without any stress [ 30 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing Group Open-Book Exams as a Learning and Assessment Strategy in the Clinical Biochemistry Course for Medical Students

Eldakhakhny,

Alamoudi,

Gad

et al. 2024

Cureus

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Background: Teachers constantly strive to obtain reliable and appropriate teaching and assessment methods to maximize the learning experience. This study aimed to introduce combined modified team-based learning and open-book exams (TBL/OBEs) as learning and assessment strategies in clinical biochemistry for medical students and assess students' perceptions. Methods: Second-year medical students enrolled in the clinical biochemistry course were included in this study and subjected to TBL/OBE assessment. The assessment included two parts: the open-book format for half of the questions and the closed-book format for the other as a control. Upon completing the combined TBL/OBE session, the students were required to complete a structured survey to evaluate their perception of the experience. The data were gathered and analyzed. Data were presented as mean±standard error of the mean (SEM), and a p-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 358 students completed the TBL/OBE and closed-book exam (CBE) and responded to the survey. Of these students, 76% preferred the OBE, and 84% thought it was a suitable learning method. On the one hand, the mean difficulty of the OBE format was 92.7±1.5 SEM, while, for the CBE, the mean difficulty was 88.7±1.9 SEM (p=0.015). On the other hand, the mean discrimination factor for OBE was 0.26±0.04 and, for the CBE, 0.41±0.04 SEM (p=0.0016). Males found the OBE questions easier (p=0.025) and less stressful (p=0.01). Conclusion: A combined model of modified TBL and OBE is a successful learning and assessment strategy in clinical biochemistry for medical students.

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“…This is in contrast to several studies which show a significant impact of low socio- * -based on responses by 41 respondents economic status on online learning. (11,12) This discrepancy may be partially explained by the fact that the University of Moratuwa is the most technically equipped state university in the country, thus students have access to online resources irrespective of their family background.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Academic performance and well-being of medical students during online learning of basic sciences in a newly established medical faculty

Wariyapperuma,

Atapattu,

Fernando

2024

Asian J. Internal Med.

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Introduction: The Faculty of Medicine, University of Moratuwa, established during the COVID-19 pandemic, was compelled to conduct the teaching activities online for the first intake of students until their first bar examination. Online learning is known to be linked to several health issues. This study aims to explore the academic performance and perceived health effects related to online learning in the Faculty of Medicine, Moratuwa.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among all 104 first-intake students using an anonymous online self-administered questionnaire to explore health effects and academic performance after ethical clearance.Results: Out of 104 students, 82 students responded (response rate=78.85%). Majority participated from home using their own laptop (74.4%) and personal Wi-Fi (69.5%) and spent 5-10 hours daily for online academic activities (72%). Majority complained of related physical (86.6%), and psychological (81.7%) health issues: eye problems (69.5%), headache (47.6%), backache (43.9%), stress (46.3%) and concentration difficulties (45.1%). The first bar examination was cleared by 84.1% with the majority (52.4%) obtaining classes. There was a statistically significant positive association (p< .05) between physical and psychological health concerns with the average screen-time spent on academic activities, but not with the academic performance. There was also no statistically significant association between screen-time and academic performance.Conclusions: Majority of students using online learning had related physical and psychological health issues which were positively associated with the screen-time though not with academic performance. Designing online activities with less screen time may be considered as a strategy to minimise health effects related to online learning.

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Assessment during Covid-19: quality assurance of an online open book formative examination for undergraduate medical students

Cited by 10 publications

References 32 publications

Evolving Assessment in Medical Education: Exploring the Role of Open-Book Examinations

Evolving Assessment in Medical Education: Exploring the Role of Open-Book Examinations

Introducing Group Open-Book Exams as a Learning and Assessment Strategy in the Clinical Biochemistry Course for Medical Students

Academic performance and well-being of medical students during online learning of basic sciences in a newly established medical faculty

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