Student poster conferences as a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice

<p>Innovative assessment for learning is an important part of professional medical and health professions education programmes. We propose that student poster conferences are a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice, that has the potential to support research compe...

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Main Authors: Sims, D, Aitken, D, Swales, C
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025
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author Sims, D
Aitken, D
Swales, C
author_facet Sims, D
Aitken, D
Swales, C
author_sort Sims, D
collection OXFORD
description <p>Innovative assessment for learning is an important part of professional medical and health professions education programmes. We propose that student poster conferences are a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice, that has the potential to support research competency development and professional identity formation. Of primary importance, the poster conference is a safe-to-fail formative experiential learning opportunity, with opportunities for feedback from peers and key stakeholders. It is a form of authentic assessment that replicates a ‘real world’ conference experience and aspects of public scholarship and peer review. Inclusivity is possible through the flexibility, diversity and potential multi-modality of the poster and presentation formats. Furthermore, by opening up the event to other students, staff and health professionals, it is inclusive, while simultaneously including students into the larger Communities of Practice through legitimate peripheral participation. Lastly, it is a sustainable form of assessment as it equips students for future research practices and dissemination. As a relatively low-cost assessment practice, compatible with online formats too, poster conferences are a widely applicable assessment method across contexts, disciplines and study levels.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:12da5071-f4a5-4494-8ba5-fa2a18b19afc2025-01-22T10:29:46ZStudent poster conferences as a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practiceJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:12da5071-f4a5-4494-8ba5-fa2a18b19afcEnglishSymplectic ElementsWiley2025Sims, DAitken, DSwales, C<p>Innovative assessment for learning is an important part of professional medical and health professions education programmes. We propose that student poster conferences are a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice, that has the potential to support research competency development and professional identity formation. Of primary importance, the poster conference is a safe-to-fail formative experiential learning opportunity, with opportunities for feedback from peers and key stakeholders. It is a form of authentic assessment that replicates a ‘real world’ conference experience and aspects of public scholarship and peer review. Inclusivity is possible through the flexibility, diversity and potential multi-modality of the poster and presentation formats. Furthermore, by opening up the event to other students, staff and health professionals, it is inclusive, while simultaneously including students into the larger Communities of Practice through legitimate peripheral participation. Lastly, it is a sustainable form of assessment as it equips students for future research practices and dissemination. As a relatively low-cost assessment practice, compatible with online formats too, poster conferences are a widely applicable assessment method across contexts, disciplines and study levels.</p>
spellingShingle Sims, D
Aitken, D
Swales, C
Student poster conferences as a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice
title Student poster conferences as a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice
title_full Student poster conferences as a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice
title_fullStr Student poster conferences as a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice
title_full_unstemmed Student poster conferences as a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice
title_short Student poster conferences as a formative, authentic, inclusive and sustainable assessment practice
title_sort student poster conferences as a formative authentic inclusive and sustainable assessment practice
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AT aitkend studentposterconferencesasaformativeauthenticinclusiveandsustainableassessmentpractice
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