THE IMPACT OF AWARENESS OF ASSESSMENT CRITERIA ON PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN GROUP ACTIVITIES.

Abstract

Introduction: In higher education, outcome based approach to teaching is the dictum. Assessment criteria should be designed to ensure that learning takes place at the level appropriate to the assigned skill. Students when familiarised with the assessment criteria results in self-motivated approach to attain that skill.The objective of the present study is to determine the impact of awareness of assessment criteria on the performance of students in group activities. Materials and methods:100 phase one MBBS students were included in the study.Whole batch was divided into 15 small groups and each group was given a problem based question to discuss.The role of each participant in the group was assessed by assessors using specified assessment criteria. Assessment was done in two phases. In the second phase students were made aware of the assessment criteria. Reflections of students regarding the assessment criteria were also collected. Results:The scores obtained after the students were aware of the assessment criteria was higher and the difference was found to be statistically significant. Majority of the students reflected on the positive impact of being aware of the assessment criteria. Conclusion: Knowing about based on what criteria a candidate is being assessed motivates the student to perform better.In activities which was not assessed earlier the approach of using an assessment criteria and making the student aware of it would definitely assure better performance.