A Comparison of Student Performance on Discipline-Specific versus Integrated Exams in a Medical School Course

Autor/inn/en	Thompson, Andrew R.; Braun, Mark W.; O'Loughlin, Valerie D.
Titel	A Comparison of Student Performance on Discipline-Specific versus Integrated Exams in a Medical School Course
Quelle	In: Advances in Physiology Education, 37 (2013) 4, S.370-376 (7 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1043-4046
DOI	10.1152/advan.00015.2013
Schlagwörter	Comparative Analysis; Medical Students; Medical Education; Academic Achievement; Correlation; Licensing Examinations (Professions); Scores; Educational Change; Pathology; Sample Size; Science Tests; Grade Point Average; Taxonomy; Test Format; Indiana; Medical College Admission Test + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Medizinische Ausbildung; Schulleistung; Korrelation; Bildungsreform; Pathologie; Taxonomie; Testentwicklung
Abstract	Curricular reform is a widespread trend among medical schools. Assessing the impact that pedagogical changes have on students is a vital step in review process. This study examined how a shift from discipline-focused instruction and assessment to integrated instruction and assessment affected student performance in a second-year medical school pathology course. We investigated this by comparing pathology exam scores between students exposed to traditional discipline-specific instruction and exams (DSE) versus integrated instruction and exams (IE). Exam content was controlled, and individual questions were evaluated using a modified version of Bloom's taxonomy. Additionally, we compared United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) step 1 scores between DSE and IE groups. Our findings indicate that DSE students performed better than IE students on complete pathology exams. However, when exam content was controlled, exam scores were equivalent between groups. We also discovered that the integrated exams were composed of a significantly greater proportion of questions classified on the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy and that IE students performed better on these questions overall. USMLE step 1 exam scores were similar between groups. The finding of a significant difference in content complexity between discipline-specific and integrated exams adds to recent literature indicating that there are a number of potential biases related to curricular comparison studies that must be considered. Future investigation involving larger sample sizes and multiple disciplines should be performed to explore this matter further. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10