Remote versus on-site proctored exam: comparing student results in a cross-sectional study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected assessment practices in medical education necessitating distancing from the traditional classroom. However, safeguarding academic integrity is of particular importance for high-stakes medical exams. We utilised remote proctoring to administer safely and reliably a proficiency-test for admission to the Advanced Master of General Practice (AMGP). We compared exam results of the remote proctored exam group to those of the on-site proctored exam group. Methods A cross-sectional design was adopted with candidates applying for admission to the AMGP. We developed and applied a proctoring software operating on three levels to register suspicious events: recording actions, analysing behaviour, and live supervision. We performed a Mann-Whitney U test to compare exam results from the remote proctored to the on-site proctored group. To get more insight into candidates’ perceptions about proctoring, a post-test questionnaire was administered. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to explore quantitative data, while qualitative data were thematically analysed. Results In total, 472 (79%) candidates took the proficiency-test using the proctoring software, while 121 (20%) were on-site with live supervision. The results indicated that the proctoring type does not influence exam results. Out of 472 candidates, 304 filled in the post-test questionnaire. Two factors were extracted from the analysis and identified as candidates’ appreciation of proctoring and as emotional distress because of proctoring. Four themes were identified in the thematic analysis providing more insight on candidates’ emotional well-being. Conclusions A comparison of exam results revealed that remote proctoring could be a viable solution for administering high-stakes medical exams. With regards to candidates’ educational experience, remote proctoring was met with mixed feelings. Potential privacy issues and increased test anxiety should be taken into consideration when choosing a proctoring protocol. Future research should explore generalizability of these results utilising other proctoring systems in medical education and in other educational settings.

Remote Proctored Exam for Proficiency-Testing: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected assessment practice in higher education including a complex planning of supervision. To organise safely and reliably a remote proficiency-test for admission to the Advanced Master of General Practice (AMGP), we developed a supervisor app tracking and tracing candidates’ behaviour. Methods: A cross-sectional design was adopted with candidates applying for admission to the AMGP. The supervisor app operated on three levels to register events: recording actions, analysing behaviour, and live supervision. Each suspicious event was given a score. The outcome measures were the number of suspicious events and the exam outcome compared to the past year. To get more insight into candidates’ perceptions about the app, a post-test questionnaire was administered. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to explore quantitative data, while qualitative data were thematically analysed. Results: In total, 472 (79%) candidates used the app in an off campus setting and 121 (20%) were on campus with live supervision. Test results of both groups were comparable. The app detected 22 candidates with a suspicious level >1, mainly due to background noise. All events occurred without fraud purpose. Out of 472 candidates, 304 filled in the post-test questionnaire. Two factors were extracted from the analysis and identified as candidates’ appreciation of the app and as emotional distress because of the app. Four themes were identified in the thematic analysis providing more insight on candidates’ emotional well-being. Conclusions: A supervisor app registering and recording behaviour to prevent fraud during off-campus exams is efficient without influencing the exam outcome. Although candidates’ perceptions were mixed, increased anxiety was due to the lack of clear guidelines about the app. Future research should compare in a controlled design the cost-benefit balance between the supervisor app and candidates’ awareness of being monitored combined with a safe exam browsing plug in.

Live Supervision in University-Based Play Therapy Training Clinics

Experiential and contextualized learning experiences are essential for facilitating play therapy supervisees' skills development, understanding of play therapy, and self-insight necessary for growth. University-based training clinics have the capacities to provide such experiential learning opportunities; this setting, which often serves diverse community client populations, offers live supervision opportunities. To date, there is limited information available describing the process and procedure for providing live supervision in university-based play therapy training clinics. Therefore, the authors will discuss the functions of live supervision, the process and formats of live supervision, developmental stages of play therapy supervisees in live supervision, theoretical orientation and its impact on the play therapy live supervision process, additional considerations, and advantages and disadvantages of providing live supervision in this chapter all within the context of university-based training programs.