Department of Physiology, ESIC Medical College and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science and Research, Chennai, India.
Adv Physiol Educ. 2021 Mar 1;45(1):84-88. doi: 10.1152/advan.00178.2020.
Medical education has gone online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Formative assessment is essential to facilitate the learning process in medical education. However, various challenges arise during online assessment, which include reliability, when done without monitoring and practical concerns like Internet connectivity issues. This study was done to assess the medical students' perceptions of the reliability, usefulness, and practical challenges of online tests. One hundred first-year undergraduate medical students taking up online classes and tests in the subject of physiology were enrolled in this study. A questionnaire with items regarding practical challenges, reliability, and usefulness of the online tests, in general, and about different types of online assessment methods, in particular, were sent to the students online. Each item was rated on a five-point Likert scale, and the responses were analyzed anonymously. A large percentage of students used mobile phones (81.4%) to undertake online tests. Although most students (73.2%; < 0.001) felt that online tests helped them substantially in learning the subject, network connectivity issues were considered to be a matter of serious concern (85.5%, < 0.001). Among the assessment methods used, viva voce by video conferencing was thought to be most reliable (83%, < 0.001). Multiple-choice question-based assessment when done online was felt to be more practically feasible with faster feedback than classroom assessment. The results of the study suggest that medical students find online formative assessments helpful for their learning, despite their concerns about reliability and practical challenges.
由于 COVID-19 大流行，医学教育已经转向线上。形成性评估对于促进医学教育的学习过程至关重要。然而，在在线评估中会出现各种挑战，包括在没有监督的情况下的可靠性，以及像网络连接问题这样的实际问题。本研究旨在评估医学生对在线测试的可靠性、有用性和实际挑战的看法。这项研究纳入了 100 名正在学习生理学课程的一年级本科医学生，他们都参加了在线课程和在线考试。我们向学生在线发送了一份包含与在线测试的实际挑战、可靠性和有用性相关的项目，以及与不同类型在线评估方法相关的项目的问卷。每个项目的评分都采用了五分制李克特量表，对匿名回复进行了分析。大多数学生（81.4%）使用手机进行在线测试。尽管大多数学生（73.2%；<0.001）认为在线测试对他们学习这门学科有很大帮助，但网络连接问题被认为是一个严重的问题（85.5%；<0.001）。在所使用的评估方法中，通过视频会议进行的口试被认为是最可靠的（83%；<0.001）。与课堂评估相比，在线进行基于多项选择题的评估被认为更切合实际，且反馈速度更快。研究结果表明，尽管医学生对可靠性和实际挑战存在担忧，但他们认为在线形成性评估对他们的学习很有帮助。
