Presented by Dan Thompson, Coordinator of Instructional Design, Assessment and Educational Technology, Department of Medical Education, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences
Implementing a new curriculum presents a unique set of challenges that are difficult to accurately predict. Central to these challenges is ensuring the effectiveness of the curriculum in improving student outcomes. Student assessment performance data provides educators the opportunity to precisely understand which areas of the new curriculum are most effectively improving student outcomes. Specifically, through the implementation of ExamSoft categories faculty can accurately identify the necessary improvements for improving the curriculum, and most importantly, student performance. This presentation addresses the idea that appropriately researching and applying student performance data in a creative and efficient way will lead to continuous curricular development and improvement in student outcomes.
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Navigating Curriculum Change Through Continuous Student Assessment Data Analysis and Quality Improvement
1. NAVIGATING CURRICULAR
CHANGE THROUGH CONTINUOUS
STUDENT ASSESSMENT DATA ANALYSIS
AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
Dan Thompson, M.S.
Coordinator of Instructional Design, Assessment
and Educational Technology
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences
2. SESSION OBJECTIVES
At the completion of this session, participants will be
able to:
1. Utilize ExamSoft categories to obtain student assessment performance
data
2. Recognize methods of utilizing formative and summative assessment
data to identify curricular strengths and weaknesses
3. Implement appropriate adjustments to updated curriculum utilizing
student assessment data
3. INTRODUCTION
Implementing a new curriculum is not a finish line, it is a new
starting point
Any curricular changes, no matter how small, put educators in
uncharted territory
In an effort to constantly pursue improved student outcomes,
institutions should immediately evaluate their new curriculum
Key to learn what small changes can be made to improve the new
curriculum
4. INTRODUCTION
Many institutions collect internal data from surveys and focus groups and
conduct external research
Internal quantitative data utilizing student assessments is a key component
to review
Student performance data can be acquired retroactively for all ExamSoft
items
Comparisons can be made between your former and current curricular
models
This will lend insight into which teaching methods are most successful, which topics are
most difficult for students, which question types are most difficult, etc.
This information can assist in making needed alterations to a newly
implemented curriculum
5. WHAT ARE CATEGORIES?
Each question in ExamSoft can be tagged into categories that will
allow us to identify the exact subject matter, difficulty level, author,
type of teaching method implemented, style of question, etc.
Items can be placed into an unlimited number of categories
Stats can be acquired based on each category to learn the
appropriate information that will assist in evaluating a new
curriculum.
6. HOW TO CATEGORIZE QUESTIONS
Questions can be easily categorized when the question is
being created in ExamSoft
Questions that have already been created and used in
assessments can be categorized as well
Statistical analyses of these questions can be done retroactively
Categories will be pre-made, which will allow question
creators to simply click on the categories and add them for
each question
Categories work as a folder structure if needed
7. WHY CATEGORIZE? – RATIONALE/BENEFITS
Can categorize questions by the new curriculum
objectives/competencies to ensure the appropriate material is covered
as an institution
Provides insight on curricular integration and order
Makes reporting on assessment content and how we assess students
much easier
8. WHY CATEGORIZE? – RATIONALE/BENEFITS
Quantity of exam items from each discipline/class meeting
Student preparedness boards/licensure examinations
Content
Style of question
Question difficulty
As with most curricular changes, many disciplines will see their
contact hours altered
The impact of this can be lessened with how assessment items are utilized
Most importantly – be flexible!
Tweaks to your new curriculum will almost certainly need to be made, it is simply part
of the process.
9.
10. OUR EXPERIENCES
Consistently tag questions in the following categories:
Bloom’s taxonomy level
Overall subject matter
Individual class meeting topic/major course themes
Instructional method
Instructor
Review results throughout each course to gain a deeper
understanding of how to continually improve student outcomes
If a specific areas produces sub-standard outcomes, it can be quickly
identified and remediated.
Overall course and individual students
11. MOVING FORWARD
Typically requires educational staff and faculty to
complete
Each institution has their own unique strengths and
weaknesses
Using internal assessment data will help specifically identify this information
Compare with board/licensure scores
Proactively improve curricular model/instruction