Attendance, engagement and performance in a medical school curriculum: early findings from competency-based progress testing in a new medical school curriculum
Introduction Medical students often do not value attending in-person large group sessions. It is also not clear from prior research whether attendance at large group sessions impact on performance in medical school. The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between voluntary attendance i...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2018-07-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/5283.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797418657490403328 |
|---|---|
| author | Heather S. Laird-Fick David J. Solomon Carol J. Parker Ling Wang |
| author_facet | Heather S. Laird-Fick David J. Solomon Carol J. Parker Ling Wang |
| author_sort | Heather S. Laird-Fick |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Medical students often do not value attending in-person large group sessions. It is also not clear from prior research whether attendance at large group sessions impact on performance in medical school. The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between voluntary attendance in large group sessions organized as a “flipped classroom” in a new innovative curriculum and students’ mastery of clinical applications of basic science knowledge. Methodology Our students’ ability to apply basic science knowledge to clinical problems is assessed via progress testing using three methodologies: a locally developed multiple-choice examination, written examination developed through the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Customized Assessment Services Program and post encounter questions included in a clinical skills examination. We analyzed the relationship between voluntary attendance at weekly large group “flipped classroom” sessions and the students’ performance on examinations given at four intervals over the initial 24-week module of the medical school curriculum. Results Complete data were available for 167 students. A total of 82 students (49.1%) attended all large group sessions, 65 students (38.9%) missed one or two sessions and 20 students (12.0%) missed three or more sessions. There were no difference between the students in the groups on their medical admission (MCAT) examination scores. The growth in performance from each time point until the next was statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference in growth between the students who had no absences and those who had one or two absences. Students who missed three or more sessions performed significantly lower than their peers over the 24 week module and were more likely to score one or more standard deviations below the class mean on the assessments. Conclusions We found no relationship between attendance and MCAT scores suggesting the differences in performance on the progress tests was not due to initial differences in knowledge or reasoning skills. While the study was not experimental, it suggests large group sessions using a “flipped classroom” approach to provide reinforcement, feedback and practice may be effective for increasing learning and retention in the application of basic science knowledge among first year medical students. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:36:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4aa40d5b28114ef8aaa388300ea9f505 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:36:04Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-4aa40d5b28114ef8aaa388300ea9f5052023-12-03T10:57:02ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-07-016e528310.7717/peerj.5283Attendance, engagement and performance in a medical school curriculum: early findings from competency-based progress testing in a new medical school curriculumHeather S. Laird-Fick0David J. Solomon1Carol J. Parker2Ling Wang3Department of Internal Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States of AmericaOffice of Medical Education Research and Development, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States of AmericaOffice of Medical Education Research and Development, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States of AmericaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States of AmericaIntroduction Medical students often do not value attending in-person large group sessions. It is also not clear from prior research whether attendance at large group sessions impact on performance in medical school. The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between voluntary attendance in large group sessions organized as a “flipped classroom” in a new innovative curriculum and students’ mastery of clinical applications of basic science knowledge. Methodology Our students’ ability to apply basic science knowledge to clinical problems is assessed via progress testing using three methodologies: a locally developed multiple-choice examination, written examination developed through the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Customized Assessment Services Program and post encounter questions included in a clinical skills examination. We analyzed the relationship between voluntary attendance at weekly large group “flipped classroom” sessions and the students’ performance on examinations given at four intervals over the initial 24-week module of the medical school curriculum. Results Complete data were available for 167 students. A total of 82 students (49.1%) attended all large group sessions, 65 students (38.9%) missed one or two sessions and 20 students (12.0%) missed three or more sessions. There were no difference between the students in the groups on their medical admission (MCAT) examination scores. The growth in performance from each time point until the next was statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference in growth between the students who had no absences and those who had one or two absences. Students who missed three or more sessions performed significantly lower than their peers over the 24 week module and were more likely to score one or more standard deviations below the class mean on the assessments. Conclusions We found no relationship between attendance and MCAT scores suggesting the differences in performance on the progress tests was not due to initial differences in knowledge or reasoning skills. While the study was not experimental, it suggests large group sessions using a “flipped classroom” approach to provide reinforcement, feedback and practice may be effective for increasing learning and retention in the application of basic science knowledge among first year medical students.https://peerj.com/articles/5283.pdfEducationPerformance AssessmentAttendance |
| spellingShingle | Heather S. Laird-Fick David J. Solomon Carol J. Parker Ling Wang Attendance, engagement and performance in a medical school curriculum: early findings from competency-based progress testing in a new medical school curriculum PeerJ Education Performance Assessment Attendance |
| title | Attendance, engagement and performance in a medical school curriculum: early findings from competency-based progress testing in a new medical school curriculum |
| title_full | Attendance, engagement and performance in a medical school curriculum: early findings from competency-based progress testing in a new medical school curriculum |
| title_fullStr | Attendance, engagement and performance in a medical school curriculum: early findings from competency-based progress testing in a new medical school curriculum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Attendance, engagement and performance in a medical school curriculum: early findings from competency-based progress testing in a new medical school curriculum |
| title_short | Attendance, engagement and performance in a medical school curriculum: early findings from competency-based progress testing in a new medical school curriculum |
| title_sort | attendance engagement and performance in a medical school curriculum early findings from competency based progress testing in a new medical school curriculum |
| topic | Education Performance Assessment Attendance |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/5283.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT heatherslairdfick attendanceengagementandperformanceinamedicalschoolcurriculumearlyfindingsfromcompetencybasedprogresstestinginanewmedicalschoolcurriculum AT davidjsolomon attendanceengagementandperformanceinamedicalschoolcurriculumearlyfindingsfromcompetencybasedprogresstestinginanewmedicalschoolcurriculum AT caroljparker attendanceengagementandperformanceinamedicalschoolcurriculumearlyfindingsfromcompetencybasedprogresstestinginanewmedicalschoolcurriculum AT lingwang attendanceengagementandperformanceinamedicalschoolcurriculumearlyfindingsfromcompetencybasedprogresstestinginanewmedicalschoolcurriculum |