Note on mandatory self-assessment lab practicals and self-assessment Blackboard quizzes
Preamble.—The material taught in OCAO (Immersion) is core material, and it is the expectation that students will learn the material. Although there is no formal assessment of the material (i.e., no formal graded exams) in Immersion, students will be formally assessed on the material later in the year at the appropriate times and in the appropriate way in their respective curricula. Both the CPC and PCC have time built in to revisit and review the material covered in Immersion prior to formal assessment. However, Immersion is the primary opportunity that students will have to learn the material, and students should take this opportunity seriously.
1. Self-assessment lab practicals.—There will be lab practicals on three Thursday evenings in Immersion, as well as on the last Friday. Attendance is mandatory. The purpose of these lab practicals is (1) to provide you with feedback on your learning and (2) to give you some practice and experience taking timed, practical exams.
The Thursday evening practical exams will be run four times in 40-minute blocks from 6:00 – 8:40 PM. A sign-up sheet will posted outside of the lab. There will be 25-30 stations, each with a single question (with the exception of rest stations, at which there are no questions). Each Thursday evening practical exam will cover the material from the previous Friday through that Thursday. The lab practical on the final Friday will be run three times in 60-minute blocks. The final Friday exam will be 50 questions, half of which will focus on the material from the last week (i.e., like the previous Thursday evening practicals) and half of which will be “cumulative” in the sense of drawing on material from the previous three weeks. You will get one minute per station on all four practicals.
Although somewhat subjective, it is the intent for the practical exams to get progressively more challenging. Initially, about three-quarters of the questions will be on cadavers, with the remaining one-quarter being other items, such as bones, cross-sections, imaging studies, etc., and most of the questions will be identification (e.g., “name the tagged structure”). As Immersion progresses there will be a greater percentage of integrative items (e.g., “what nerve innervates the tagged muscle?”). Keep in mind that these are self-assessment tools to provide you with both feedback and practice. We understand that you will be taking these practicals "cold," without the benefit of a study period...which will certainly be true for the Thursday material. The exams will be graded and returned to you. A photographic “answer key” will be posted online to provide an opportunity to review the exam.
The grades will be recorded as part of your academic record, but will not determine whether you pass or fail the Immersion. They are self-assessment feedback tools for your use. Faculty will inspect the scores. This inspection provides the opportunity for faculty to identify students that may be having trouble and to work with those students to get them help with their learning. It also allows faculty to identify, more globally, areas where faculty need to improve how material is taught so as to enhance student learning.
2. Self-assessment Blackboard quizzes.—Students are required to take the weekly self-assessment quizzes on Blackboard. You will receive your results immediately, and you may take a quiz as many times as you like. These quizzes are multiple choice tests built around clinical vignettes, providing you feedback on your progress in integrating basic anatomical knowledge in a relevant clinical context.
Faculty will again inspect the results, confirming that everyone has taken the quiz, and, as with the self-assessment practicals, identifying students in need of assistance.