Abstract

Background:
Assessment in competency-based medical education (CBME) focuses on improving learning as an ongoing and longitudinal assessment so that facilitators can identify the needs of the learner, plan remedial measures, and provide learning opportunities to improve learning. Therefore, it is something we do with or for students and not for students. Formative assessments consolidate learning and reinforce learning behaviors. It is therefore necessary that structured formative assessments be incorporated into the regular assessment system of the CBME to ensure an optimal educational output.

Aim:
To design innovative formative assessment methods for the competency-based biochemistry curriculum for students and teachers and assess students’ acquisition and application of the acquired knowledge through formative assessment methods being applied.

Methods:
This study was conducted at the Department of Biochemistry at Deben Mahata Government Medical College & Hospital. Teachers were sensitized about the new formative assessment methods, namely, teachers’ self-report of content-pedagogical knowledge and periodical logs for the teachers and concept mapping, reflective self-assessment, and multiple choice questions (MCQs) for the students. These innovative methods with their designs were conveyed to departmental teachers through 1-2 series of group discussions. Teachers introduced innovative formative assessment methods to students on a number of occasions. The teacher self-reported their content-pedagogical knowledge before each Internal Assessment (IA) examination. The teachers were asked to rate how well contented they felt to teach the CBME curriculum on a 5-point scale, from 1 (not desirable) to 5 (highly desirable). Teachers’ logs were created using general reporting points.

Results:
A total of 97 students studying in Phase I MBBS were enrolled in the study and studying Biochemistry in Phase MBBS were enrolled in the study. We found that 64 (66%) were male and 33 (34%) were female students. Introducing newer Formative Assessment Methods was interesting, as 88% of the students attended more than 90%. The newer Formative Assessment methods - concept mapping, reflective self-assessment, and multiple choice questions (MCQs) – proved to be beneficial by many students in the subject of Biochemistry as 72% of them felt these methods to be innovative while 36% felt them difficult. Such methods increased concentration in 67% of students, and 80% students felt that they could correlate better during their performance in the formal assessment. At the outset, solving MCQs was tempting for 72% of the students, followed by growing interest in explaining the concept maps for 67% of the students, and reflective self-assessment was easier for 64% of the students. The proportion of students who were present at various occasions of Formative Assessment supports the importance of the role of feedback in formative assessment. The pressure to study for the formative assessment affected how much time students spent on studying as the number of hours the students were engaged with the curriculum as per GMER in this study as correlated with better concentrating ability and more power to think and correlate various topics taught in their teaching-learning sessions followed by assessment formatively.

Conclusion:
Innovative and new Formative Assessment methods proved to be favorable and satisfactory. They were designed and introduced gradually after proper orientation of the students and teachers of Biochemistry in Phase I of the MBBS Curriculum based on Competencies. The teachers felt motivated to implement these methods for formal assessment from now onwards with continuous Feedback to and from the students.

Key words: Innovation, Formative assessment, Concept mapping, Reflection, Feedback