Umfassende Lehrevaluation in der Medizin - eine Aufgabe für die psychosozialen Fächer?

Abstract

The paper describes the experiences with a comprehensive evaluation of medical teaching at the medical faculty of the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena. Based upon evaluations of courses initiated by the students, the evaluation of teaching is organized scientifically and extended as a comprehensive evaluation of several relevant issues (e. g. surveys of teachers and alumni) by the staff of the Department of Medical Psychology since 1998. Originally supported by a grant of the state of Thuringia, the evaluation is now financed by the medical faculty. The paper describes the requested resources for staff and material to establish a systematic evaluation of medical teaching. In addition, a detailed concept of the allocation of financial means considering evaluations, examinations, and other indicators of teaching quality is demonstrated. Based upon the results of studies related to the evaluation data base, the question of the establishment of an external evaluation in view of the coming changes of the medical curriculum in Germany is critically discussed.

A systematic review of factors influencing student ratings in undergraduate medical education course evaluations

“…Two studies from Germany covering all years of undergraduate medical education obtained student ratings of their initial interest in course content. In one study, these were significantly and strongly correlated to post-course ratings of didactic quality [ 15 ], and the other study found a strong correlation with overall ratings obtained after course attendance [ 16 ].…”

“…In a group of 40 second-year students at the University of California Medical Centre, those randomised to attend a live lecture provided more favourable ratings than those watching a video recording of the same lecture [ 21 ]. One German study found that mandatory seminars received more positive overall ratings than lectures with voluntary attendance [ 15 ]. At the same time, students voluntarily attending lectures tended to provide more positive ratings than non-attendees in this [ 15 ] and another [ 17 ] study.…”

“…One German study found that mandatory seminars received more positive overall ratings than lectures with voluntary attendance [ 15 ]. At the same time, students voluntarily attending lectures tended to provide more positive ratings than non-attendees in this [ 15 ] and another [ 17 ] study. Finally, one Swedish study suggested that teacher attitudes towards a course might frame student appraisal of the course [ 22 ].…”

National survey of evaluation practices and performance-guided resource allocation at German medical schools

“…Although these evaluations provide a rough idea of student satisfaction with teaching, they are not considered valid measures of teaching quality due to the strong bias introduced by various construct-irrelevant confounders [5]. Data show for example that students with a high initial interest in a course generally tend to rate it more positively than those with a low interest [7], [8]. Further studies found a positive correlation between exam performance and student ratings for an anatomy course [9], [10].…”