Principal Investigator: Jay MacDonald, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
Project description
Clinical skills courses in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (OSOT) aim to equip OT students with the basic skills required for entry to clinical practice. The current ‘gold standard’ for practical skills evaluation in clinical programs is commonly held to be summative evaluation, in the form of a practical exam or objective structured clinical exam (OSCE); however, these formats are very stressful for students, have interrater reliability challenges, require extensive logistical support, and are costly. The results on practical exams are also used to evaluate a student’s readiness for placement. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of using a formative assessment in the form of a skills inventory, as an adjunct to practical exams.
Research questions
- Does a skills inventory encourage OT students to record self-reflections that include strategies for skill acquisition; explore student thoughts about relevance to future OT practice; identify areas of personal strength and weaknesses; and/or show understanding of the interrelatedness of theory, skills, and clinical practice?
- Do students perceive the skills inventory as a tool that helps them track the evidence of their skill acquisition?
- Do students use the skills inventory, while on clinical placement, to remember specific personalized strategies to complete skills?
- Does using a skills inventory impact student confidence while on clinical placement?
- Is there a relationship between a student’s scores on practical exams (summative assessment) and their self-evaluation on the skills inventory (formative assessment)?