Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral Hygiene, University of Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
BMC Oral Health. 2022 Oct 24;22(1):452. doi: 10.1186/s12903-022-02498-3.
Seminal to the process of a health sciences curriculum evaluation is the periodic review of clinical assessment instruments that measure competency. An assessment of quality is facilitated by using a well-structured, authentic and reliable instrument. This process rests on designing and measuring the instrument against a sound framework and validating it for scientific merit. This paper documents the pedagogy and the process taken in developing an improved formative competency-based assessment instrument for the final year students of the Bachelor of Oral Health program (BOH) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
A qualitative research study design employing the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used as a method for gaining small group consensus on the clinical assessment instrument for exit level Oral Hygiene (BOH3) students within the parameters of assessment principles. The key contributors to the instrument development process were the academic staff of the Department of Oral Hygiene, involved in clinical teaching and assessment of student competency.
The domains of ethics and professionalism, patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning and implementation was identified as the core elements in the assessment. The principles of assessment, which include, alignment with outcomes, feedback, transparency and validity, were used to guide the instrument development. The assessment criteria were cross examined for alignment to the learning outcomes of the module and the program whilst formative feedback was foregrounded as a central feature to support student learning and progress monitoring. Transparency was obtained by providing students access to the instrument before and after the assessment including the written feedback on their performance. The instrument embodied a range of criteria to be assessed rather than on the awarding of a cumulative score. This allowed for the identification of the criteria or domain within which a student is struggling or excelling. Consensus on the instrument design was achieved using the NGT phases throughout the instrument development process including the weighting of the domains and grading. This level of engagement together with the application of scientifically sound assessment principles contributed to the validation of the instrument.
The development of a competency-based assessment instrument was the result of a structured, collaborative and scientifically engaged process framed around specific assessment principles. The process culminated in the development of a formative competency-based clinical assessment instrument that was fit for purpose in the Bachelor of Oral Health program.The Nominal Group Technique served to be a valuable approach for small group consensus in developing the instrument. It served to promote individual perspectives and to generate debate and group discussion between academics that were proficient in clinical teaching and, finally to facilitate group consensus on the instrument structure and system for administration.
健康科学课程评估的关键是定期审查衡量能力的临床评估工具。使用结构良好、真实可靠的工具可以更轻松地进行质量评估。这一过程依赖于根据健全的框架设计和衡量工具，并验证其科学价值。本文记录了在西开普大学（UWC）口腔健康学士（BOH）项目的最后一年学生中，开发改进的基于形成性能力的临床评估工具的教学法和所采取的过程。
采用名义群体技术（NGT）作为一种方法，在评估原则的范围内，就口腔卫生（BOH3）学生的临床评估工具获取小团体共识，该方法主要依靠口腔卫生系的学术人员，他们负责临床教学和评估学生的能力。
确定了道德和专业精神、患者评估、诊断、治疗计划和实施等领域是评估的核心要素。评估原则，包括与成果的一致性、反馈、透明度和有效性，用于指导工具的开发。评估标准经过交叉检查，以与模块和课程的学习成果保持一致，同时将形成性反馈作为支持学生学习和进度监测的核心特征。通过在评估之前和之后向学生提供对工具的访问权限，包括对其表现的书面反馈，实现了透明度。该工具体现了一系列要评估的标准，而不是授予累计分数。这使得能够确定学生在哪个标准或领域中表现不佳或表现出色。在整个工具开发过程中，使用 NGT 阶段达成了对工具设计的共识，包括对域的加权和分级。这种参与度以及应用科学合理的评估原则有助于验证该工具。
基于特定评估原则，构建、协作和积极参与的结构化过程，促成了基于能力的评估工具的开发。该过程最终开发出一种适合口腔健康学士课程的形成性基于能力的临床评估工具。名义群体技术对于小组达成共识开发工具非常有价值。它有助于促进个人观点的表达，并在熟练掌握临床教学的学术人员之间产生辩论和小组讨论，最终促进小组就工具结构和管理系统达成共识。
