Digital self-administered assessments: The utility of touch screen tablets as a platform for engaging, early learner assessment

Early learning assessment is a necessary mechanism for understanding skills children possess and to inform their instruction. Assessing early learners is different in many aspects than assessing older students. Considerations such as mode of assessment, supports necessary to obtain instructionally relevant data, and the impact of feedback for engaging students in assessment must be afforded. This study focused on the use of a tablet-based app as a digital means of assessment that lent itself well to the necessary considerations when assessing early learners. Based on the data collected in this study through the assessment app, observations and student and teacher interviews, students as young as 44 months demonstrated the ability to self-administer and remain engaged in the assessment activities incorporated within the app. Teachers described use of the reporting interface as instructionally informative and easy to use. The paper concludes with a discussion of supportive attributes of digital platforms in the assessment of early learners and areas for future research in the field.

Development of entrustable professional activities for paediatric intensive care fellows: A national modified Delphi study

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs), as a focus of learner assessment, are supported by validity evidence. An EPA is a unit of professional practice requiring proficiency in multiple competencies simultaneously, that can be entrusted to a sufficiently competent learner. Taken collectively, a set of EPAs define and inform the curriculum of a specialty training. The goal of this study was to develop a set of EPAs for Dutch PICU fellows. A multistage methodology was employed incorporating sequential input from task force members, a medical education expert, PICU fellowship program directors, and PICU physicians and fellows via a modified three-round Delphi study. In the first modified Delphi round, experts rated indispensability and clarity of preliminary EPAs. In the subsequent rounds, aggregated scores for each EPA and group comments were provided. In round two, respondents rated indispensability and clarity of revised EPAs. Round three was used to gain explicit confirmation of suitability to implement these EPAs. Based on median ratings and content validity index (CVI) analysis for indispensability in the first two rounds, all nine preliminary EPAs covered activities that were deemed essential to the clinical practice of PICU physicians. Based on median ratings and CVI analysis for clarity however, four EPAs needed revision. With an agreement percentage of 93–100% for all individual EPAs as well as the set as a whole, a high degree of consensus among experts was reached in the third round. The resulting nine PICU EPAs provide a succinct overview of the core tasks of Dutch PICU physicians. These EPAs were created as an essential first step towards developing an assessment system for PICU fellows, grounded in core professional activities. The robust methodology used, may have broad applicability for other (sub)specialty training programs aiming to develop specialty specific EPAs.

Equitable Assessment and Evaluation of Young Language Learners

This chapter discusses major contributions in research and professional assessment development and reviews key classifications in young language learner assessment (YLLA). Using the five-level metric (close, immediate, proximal, distal, and remote) by Ruiz-Primo et al., the authors classify assessments as curriculum aligned or non-aligned. Inequalities limiting access to learning and to opportunities for achievement (economic status, pre-primary education, digital environment) are linked to the five metrics. They review international examinations for YLLs (Cambridge, TOEFL, Pearson) and measure their alignment with an interactive and performative-enacted curriculum. Recommendations are given for separating external assessments as local or international in washback phenomena, for the inclusion of national assessment specialists in the research paradigm, and for greater attention to language assessment literacy in teacher training. The authors predict that increases in distance and digital learning will determine future forms of YLLA and exacerbate existing inequities.

Supporting medical science educators: A matter of self-esteem, identity, and promotion opportunities

Medical science educators are faculty members primarily responsible for teaching the medical sciences to healthcare profession students. These educators also have roles in other academic areas such as curriculum development, learner assessment, advising and mentoring, clinical duties, research, institutional service, leadership and administration. Academic institutions worldwide are increasingly focused on excelling in cutting-edge research, a major criterion for university rankings, which has led to significant resources and attention invested in those endeavours. At the same time, the primary goal of academic institutions is to educate and train healthcare professionals. As a result, medical science educators are often caught in the middle of these competing interests, leading to the ambiguity between personal career development and institutional priorities. It is in this context that we consider how medical science educators might navigate these issues and how academic institutions can support and strengthen this important cohort of faculty. First, with an attempt at humour, we begin by considering three stereotypical identities of medical science educators. We then discuss how the growing number of medical education associations and programs designed to support medical science educators are making a difference. Our goal is to provide a clear direction for the current career trajectory of medical science educators.

New Trends in Formative-Summative Evaluations for Adult Education

The aim of this article was to review the different evaluation approaches for adult learners and the effect on promoting the quality of teaching and learning. This study aimed to identify new trends in adult education formative-summative evaluations. Data were collected from multiple peer-reviewed sources in a comprehensive literature review covering the period from January 2014 to March 2019. A total of 22 peer-reviewed studies were included in this study. Results were systematically analyzed to answer three questions as follows: what are the new trends in the summative and formative evaluations of adult learners? What are the new trends in the summative and formative evaluations of adult learners engaged in distance learning? And what are the outcomes/drawbacks in the summative and formative evaluations of adult learners? An analysis of the existing literature indicated that those who instruct adults must use a wide variety of pre- and post-assessment tools to match students’ differences with their needs. It also highlighted the importance of “assessment for learning” rather than “assessment of learning” and “learning-oriented assessment” (LOA) for lifelong learning, thus preparing adult learners for future responsibilities and decision making. It also indicated the importance of reflection and immediate feedback for the adult learner. Assessment of mental phenomena such as creativity should have defined terms. The findings of this article supported the argument for more attention to be paid to new trends in evaluations used in adult education. One important result of this kind of evaluation is its facilitation of self-confidence within the adult learning setting.