Second-year dental students' perception of effectiveness of formative assessment in an online learning environment during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Online teaching and assessments have been introduced in dental education for the 1st time during the corona pandemic. Formative assessments not only improve students understanding of the subject but also their self-assessment ability. There are less reported data on how students felt about the online formative assessments. Aim and Objective: The present study was planned to understand the dental students’ perceptions on the online formative assessments and their preferences in receiving feedback. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among the 2nd year students of Malla Reddy Dental College for Women. Students who have attended 50% of the online formative assessments were included in the study. A pre-validated questionnaire containing 16 questions was distributed to all the study participants as Google Forms. Data from completed questionnaires were entered into an Excel sheet and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Majority of the students preferred quiz (72%) over assignment type (49%) of assessments. Among the quiz and assignment type, picture-based questions (80%) and very short answer questions (77%) were perceived easy by the students, respectively. Immediate and faceless feedback in the form of a summary of overall performance was preferred by most of the students. Conclusion: Online formative assessments were perceived positively by the students. These can complement the regular teaching and find a place in blended learning approaches in future.