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National Workshop on Assessment Methods for Learning Evaluation
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Introduction
Evaluation of
learning is an integral component of an education system. An
evaluation program is significantly effective when appropriate
techniques and tools for assessment are applied. The assessment
methods most commonly used are written (theory) and practical
examinations. In a written examination, questions are usually of
Essay type, Short Answer (SAQs) type, or Multiple Choice (MCQs)
type. Practical examinations are either individual full length
practical exercises or multiple stations of objectively structured
practical examinations (OSPEs). Some of these assessment tools are
inherently subjective, while the rest of them may be applied with a
great degree of objectivity. No method of assessment can, however,
be intrinsically flawless. Therefore, it is perceivable that an
evaluation system based on available tools and techniques of
assessment be improvised such that it becomes highly objective,
reliable and valid, contributes towards quality and efficacy of an
assessment system and thus has direct bearing on the performance of
students. The development of a valid and reliable evaluation program
is the primary responsibility of teachers. Unfortunately,
postgraduate programs of most medical colleges of India do not
train resident doctors, the teachers and examiners of tomorrow, in
the basic concepts of medical education. It is imperative tha
teachers engaged in teaching in medical colleges receive proper
training towards creating, applying, analyzing and improving
objective methods of learning evaluation. This constitutes the basis
of the proposed workshop.
The workshop aims at imparting ‘hands-on’ training for creating,
applying, analyzing, and improving objective assessment tools like
MCQs, OSPEs and SAQs in basic medical sciences through intensive
training sessions spread over three days, to a group of selected
participants. On a daily basis, following sensitization plenary
sessions by experts, the participants will be divided into small
groups and actively engaged in the ‘hands on’ sessions facilitated
by dedicated resource persons. Each group will be provided with an
opportunity to present their ‘product’ to the whole house consisting
of participants, facilitators, resource persons and experts for an
interactive discussion and comments on the same.
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