Student performance on and attitudes toward peer assessments on Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience assignments

doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2012.01.011

Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning

Volume 4, Issue 2, April 2012, Pages 113-121

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2012.01.011 Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

To compare student (peer) assessment and preceptor evaluation of required rotation assignments and assess students' attitudes toward this process.

Methods

Fourth-year students completing their Ambulatory Care rotation at Dreyer Medical Clinic from March 2009 to February 2010 were required to complete peer assessments on the rough drafts of three required assignments. Students were trained on proper use of peer assessment forms plus formative feedback questions. After receiving feedback, students had the opportunity to revise final submissions. Preceptors evaluated final versions using the same grading criteria. At the end of the rotation, students provided feedback on the process. A historical control was later created consisting of preceptors' evaluations of students completing their Ambulatory Care rotation at the same clinic the previous year who were not required to complete peer assessments.

Results

Twenty-two students completed the peer assessments. Mean total scores for peer assessments were similar to preceptor evaluations for case presentation (13.2 vs 12.6, P = .209), journal club (12.6 vs 13.1, P = .457), and drug information paper (12.7 vs 12.6, P = .882). Final feedback indicated that students liked receiving their peers' feedback and felt that assessing peers' assignments helped them improve their own assignments. Mean total scores for preceptor evaluations were similar to the historical control for case presentation (12.6 vs 12.8, P = .529), journal club (13.1 vs 13.3, P = .605), and drug information paper (12.6 vs 13.5, P = .121).

Conclusion

Although the opportunity for peer evaluation did not translate into a difference in final grades, it is still recommended based on student feedback and reduced faculty workload.

Section snippets

Background

Peer assessments are a part of lifelong learning and professional evaluations in the workforce. In preparation for a pharmacy career, pharmacy students should be exposed to the use of a peer assessment process in the academic setting to gain confidence in peer assessment and the provision of constructive, formative feedback.1, 2 Important conditions to support successful implementation of a peer assessment include adequate preparation on the use of peer assessment, incorporation of peer

Rationale and objectives

This study aimed to compare student peer assessment of the rough draft of required APPE assignments to preceptor evaluations of the final copy of the same assignments, and assess students' attitudes toward this process. In addition, it aimed to compare preceptor evaluation of student APPE assignments to the preceptor evaluations of the same type of assignments from the previous year (when students were not required to complete a rough draft and use peer assessments) to assess the impact of peer

Materials and methods

This was a prospective investigation of students' performance and attitudes toward peer assessment while on their ambulatory/chronic care rotation at a chosen clinical site. Thirty-two students were eligible to participate during the 2009-2010 rotation year. Data collection included student peer assessment scores using the college-approved grading criteria plus additional open-ended formative feedback questions, preceptor evaluation scores using the college-approved grading criteria, and

Results

Twenty-two students completed the peer evaluations. The historical control group included 28 students from the previous APPE year. The curriculum and grade point average (GPA) scores of the control group were similar to that of the group that completed peer evaluations.

Table 1 shows the mean score of each project, followed by its p-value. Each project was worth a maximum of 15 points. The mean peer assessment scores of rough drafts were similar to preceptor evaluation scores of final

Discussion and Conclusions

Students often grade peers more liberally,1, 4 hence a difference in peer and preceptor evaluations was expected. Our results uncovered that students believed the opportunity for revisions after peer feedback improved final assignments. Thus, although preceptors' evaluations are usually more strict (indicated by lower mean scores), they were similar to student peer assessments in this study, possibly because of the chance for revisions between peer and preceptor evaluation. Part of the purpose

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Use of journal clubs and book clubs in pharmacy education: A scoping review
2022, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning
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In the other two book club studies, evaluations were limited to post-course student evaluations, which were largely favorable.37,39 A total of 13 articles described the use of journal clubs in experiential pharmacy education40–52; there were no studies identified reporting the use of book clubs in this setting. Most articles reported experiences of journal club activities during APPEs (n = 9, 69%).40,41,43,45,48–52
Journal clubs and book clubs are educational activities used in health sciences education to teach evidence-based decision-making, critical thinking, and appraisal skills, and build trainee understanding about important professional issues. The main objective of this scoping review was to identify and synthesize all research studies on journal or book clubs for pharmacy learners. A secondary objective was to identify gaps in the literature where future research would be beneficial to pharmacy educators and learners.
A comprehensive literature search was run across five databases. Studies were screened using a two stage, blinded, independent screening process.
Forty-two studies met all inclusion criteria; 86% reported on journal clubs and 14% on book clubs. Of the journal club studies, 50% were in didactic courses, 33% in experiential education, and 17% were co-curricular initiatives. Of the six book club studies, 67% were within didactic courses and 33% were co-curricular initiatives, including the only interprofessional education study. Most journal clubs were used to teach evidence-based practice, drug literature evaluation, or biostatistics. Book clubs were more focused on soft skills or topics students were less likely to encounter in the core curriculum.
Future research on journal clubs and book clubs in pharmacy education should continue to assess student learning outcomes and abilities. Specifically, future studies should move beyond evaluating student perceptions of journal clubs to investigate effectiveness for topics other than drug literature evaluation or evidence-based practice, and the impact of journal clubs and book clubs on interprofessional knowledge, communication, and team dynamics.
Comparing faculty evaluations of student journal club presentations with student self- and peer evaluations during advanced pharmacy practice experiences
2020, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning
Citation Excerpt :
Students are generally comfortable receiving peer evaluations and find peer feedback helpful.18–20 While peer evaluations are often scored higher than instructor evaluations or student self-evaluations, students feel they are able to accurately and honestly assess their peer colleague's work.2,7,18–20 Few studies compare student evaluations and faculty evaluations completed during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs), and studies in this setting often focus on the importance of student evaluations in professional development rather than evaluating the differences in grading.2,19,21
Self-evaluation is a critical step in professional development. Peer evaluation may enhance student learning and help peer evaluators recognize their own limitations. However, these evaluations may not accurately assess performance. This study's purpose is to evaluate differences between faculty, self-, and peer evaluations of student journal club (JC) presentations during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs).
Student JC presentations for three APPE sites were identified between May 2015 and April 2018 and included if at least one faculty, self-, and peer evaluation were complete. Overall grades and individual rubric ratings were compared.
Seventy-four students had complete data sets. The mean overall scores for JC presentations were 82.72%, 86.05%, and 91.01% for faculty, self-, and peer evaluations, respectively. Self-evaluation ratings were significantly higher than faculty on each domain, except for “presentation and communication skills” (mean difference: −0.2, p = .034) and “ability to answer questions” (mean difference: −0.1, p = .247). Linear regression showed a statistically significant relationship between self-evaluation and faculty evaluation ratings for ability to answer questions (beta = 0.5, p < .001). Peer evaluation ratings were significantly higher than faculty and self-evaluations (p < .05).
Faculty scores on JC presentations completed during APPEs were lower compared to student evaluations of themselves and their peers. Further incorporation of self- and peer evaluation throughout pharmacy school curricula may improve student competence in performing these evaluations. Formal training is needed to improve students' ability to complete self and peer evaluations.
Conducting and presenting qualitative research in pharmacy education
2019, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning
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As problems in pharmacy education become more complex, qualitative approaches may provide researchers with a set of tools to better position them to explore these phenomena.1 While research in pharmacy education has historically been conducted from a quantitative approach,8–11 we have recently seen the rise of qualitative research.12–15 In qualitative studies, “researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people have constructed, that is, how people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the world.”16
The evolution of practices in healthcare and the content and delivery of pharmacy education have generated new challenges for practitioners and academicians. Fittingly, pharmacy education research in the academic setting has grown rapidly to provide innovative solutions to these challenges. One approach for addressing these challenges includes the collection and analysis of qualitative research (QR). Though a useful methodological tool, many pharmacy educators are not trained to appropriately conduct QR and present the findings of their work.
QR offers many advantages for pharmacy education researchers. However, prior to delving into QR projects it is important to understand the key distinctions of the approach, role of the researcher, and the significance of situating the study so that the research question, data collection techniques, and analysis procedures are aligned.
We provide recommendations for several key components for conducting QR, articulating the process, and presenting and contextualizing the findings.
This article serves as a primer on QR methods, offering relevant background information, ways to apply this approach in pharmacy education research, and recommendations for presenting qualitative findings. Employing rigorous qualitative approaches in pharmacy education and appropriately presenting the procedures and findings will increase the visibility of QR and provide an opportunity for scholars to become familiar with the approach.
Student pharmacists’ perceptions of the implementation of peer assessment instruction and activities within a didactic course
2016, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning
Citation Excerpt :
Students are commonly asked to conduct peer assessment activities; however, they are rarely instructed on the specific methods on how to do so. In various studies, students conducted peer assessment with brief instruction regarding constructive feedback, grading criteria, and objectives; however, no formal methodology was utilized.3,6–8 Formal instruction may improve students’ confidence to provide peer assessment and lead to improved feedback from others.
To describe pharmacy students’ experiences and perceptions of peer assessment before and after an instructional lecture and implementation of related activities within a didactic course.
Baseline perceptions and previous experience with peer assessment were collected from second professional year student pharmacists enrolled in a didactic drug information course. This was followed by an instructional lecture describing appropriate methods for providing peer assessment. Throughout the semester students provided and received peer feedback for written assignments on three separate occasions. At the end of the semester, a post-survey instrument was administered to assess changes in perceptions of peer assessment to determine the utility of incorporating peer assessment activities within the classroom.
A total of 108 students responded to both the pre- and post-survey instruments, providing a response rate of 75%. At baseline, only 38% of students reported that they received training on peer assessment, while 87% reported that they had previously used peer assessment. At the end of the semester, there was a significant increase in students agreeing that they had adequately learned about peer assessment and had a favorable experience with peer assessment.
Implementation of in-class peer assessment activities was well-received and improved students’ perception on their abilities to provide and receive peer feedback, which is a necessary component of the pharmacy work environment.
A gamified peer assessment model for on-line learning environments in a competitive context
2016, Computers in Human Behavior
Peer Assessment (PA) offers a powerful solution that helps teachers in online learning environments to correct essays by distributing the workload among students. Nevertheless, the quality of the results in PA depends on good evaluations of reviewers. Thus, the main drawback for scaling up the use of PA is the presence of inadequate behaviours, such as being too harsh or too soft in the assessment, or even not offering a helpful feedback. This usually occurs due to the lack of motivation and engagement of students in the PA process. To deal with this problem, this paper proposes a gamified peer assessment model, where gamification elements are used to engage students in PA activities. Two experiments using the proposed model within an intelligent tutoring system called MeuTutor shows satisfactory outcomes. We verified that the average grade given by students to an essay are equivalent to those given by experts, but the time and costs to complete the assessments were largely reduced. Furthermore, the use of gamification helped to increase the amount of students' access to the system in 64.28%; increase in 10.53% the number of essays written and submitted; and improve the quantity and quality of assessments for each essay.
Impact of peer assessment on student pharmacists' behaviors and self-confidence
2014, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning
Citation Excerpt :
Improvements in critical-thinking skills and self-assessment have been associated with the practice of peer assessment as well.3 Use of peer assessment during the training of health professional students has been studied in both didactic and experiential training venues.4–11 Two studies have examined the attitudes, perceptions, and the impact of peer assessment on medical students.4,5
To assess the impact that peer assessment has on student pharmacists’ behaviors and self-confidence.
A 19-item, electronic survey instrument was sent to 161 third-professional-year student pharmacists enrolled in a one-credit, required integrated laboratory course. The survey instrument aimed to assess how experiences with peer assessment throughout the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum had affected students’ behaviors and self-confidence as well as identify factors that may influence the reception of peer feedback.
One hundred forty-one (88%) responses were received. The majority (78%) of students agreed that they remembered the content of assessments provided by peers and that the assessments provided by peers were accurate. However, most students reported that receipt of feedback from an instructor is more meaningful than from a peer. Students were divided over the meaningfulness of anonymous peer review compared to an identified peer-reviewer. While 65% of students agreed that peer assessments have enhanced their learning, only 40% indicated that they reflected on previous assessments. The majority of students (85%) agreed that a positive peer assessment gave them more confidence in their abilities. Finally, most students agreed that peer assessments have helped them to identify personal strengths and future opportunities for growth.
Peer assessment is perceived by students to positively impact self-confidence, enhance learning behaviors, and aid in the identification of personal strengths and limitations. Most students agreed that receipt of feedback from an instructor is more meaningful than from a peer, but students were divided regarding the impact of anonymity and friendship.

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ResearchStudent performance on and attitudes toward peer assessments on Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience assignments

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Section snippets

Background

Rationale and objectives

Materials and methods

Results

Discussion and Conclusions

Am J Pharm Educ

Relationships between student characteristics and self-, peer and tutor evaluations of oral presentations

Assess Eval Higher Educ

Student peer assessment in higher education: A meta-analysis comparing peer and teacher marks

Rev Educ Res

Students' experience of peer assessment in a professional course

Assess Eval Higher Educ

Computer support of effective peer assessment in an undergraduate programming Class

J Comput Assist Learn

Research
Student performance on and attitudes toward peer assessments on Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience assignments