Abstract
Introduction: The newly established Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) has incorporated measurement of non-cognitive skills and behaviours into the summative assessment in the setting of problem based learning (PBL). This study aims to validate a PBL process assessment tool for PAHS. Methods: A list of 72 items of student behaviours observable in PBL tutorials was compiled from literature review. They were categorized under ten broad dimensions consistent with predefined PAHS Graduate Attributes. A series of PBL project committee meetings and expert inputs refined the list of 72 items to 47 and categorized them under eight dimensions. These 47 items, each with a 4-point rating scale, formed the Tutor Assessment of Student Tool (TAS-Tool). Twenty-four trained faculty members used the TAS-Tool to evaluate the performance of 41 senior high school students in PBL tutorials. Results: The internal-consistency of the TAS-Tool was very high (Cronbach’s α = 0.954). Removal of two inconsistent items further increased it to 0.975. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation applied to the remaining 45 items gave seven components and explained 69.47% of the variation between the components. These seven components (% variation) were: Immersed in the Tutorial Process (20.16%); Professional (12.71%); Communicator and Team Leader (11.25%); Critical Thinker (8.77%); Reflector (6.22%); Creative (5.95%), and Sensitive (4.41%). Conclusion: TAS-Tool was found to be a reliable and valid instrument and applicable in formative PBL process assessment at PAHS starting with the pioneer cohort of medical students. Further validation of TAS-Tool through longitudinal study with PAHS students is required for summative purpose.
Highlights
The newly established Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) has incorporated measurement of non-cognitive skills and behaviours into the summative assessment in the setting of problem based learning (PBL)
PAHS decided to incorporate their measurement into formative assessment but, most importantly, into summative assessment too in the setting of PBL (Upadhyay et al, 2011)
Since no locally validated PBL assessment tool was available, the need for such a tool became evident for PAHS before enrolling the pioneer cohort of medical students in June 2010
Summary
The newly established Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) has incorporated measurement of non-cognitive skills and behaviours into the summative assessment in the setting of problem based learning (PBL). Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS), a newly established health science university in Nepal, has adopted problem-based learning (PBL) as the principal pedagogic strategy for fostering important generic skills (non-cognitive behaviours). These include self-directed learning, good communication, team leadership, and critical and reflective thinking (Wood, 2003; Schmidt et al, 2006; Tiwari et al, 2006; Koh et al, 2008) These generic skills are consistent with the predefined PAHS Graduate Attributes (Morgan, 2009). Since no locally validated PBL assessment tool was available, the need for such a tool became evident for PAHS before enrolling the pioneer cohort of medical students in June 2010
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