Course Description

Written assessment is the cornerstone of knowledge assessment in clinical medicine. This practical workshop is designed for medical teachers from all disciplines including clinical, para-clinical, and basic science teachers with special emphasis on question writing and quality assurance. The two-day program focuses on common forms of written assessment such as multiple-choice questions (MCQs), modified essay questions (MEQs), and extended matching items (EMIs). The best practices in designing MCQs, MEQs, and EMIs will be discussed. Criteria for effective psychometric instruments such as validity, reliability and educational effect will also be embedded in the discussion. Participants will practice the best practice during hands-on activities. The last part of the workshop focuses on quality assurance and standard-setting in written assessment.

The first part of the program will introduce the principles and purpose of assessment and common psychometric characteristics of assessment instruments with particular reference to written assessment. A larger second part will be devoted to common forms of written assessment such as multiple-choice questions, extended matching items, and short answer questions. Hands-on activity will lead to developing questions that are context-rich, inter-disciplinary, and educationally meaningful. The third part of the workshop will concentrate on quality assurance and standard-setting in written assessment.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to: · Develop examination blueprint for their own situations · Develop context-rich and inter-disciplinary MCQs, MEQs, and EMIs that support student learning · Apply the quality assurance and standard setting processes in written examination.

Preparation before the session

PART 1: Participants are required to read the following articles [Click the following title to access]:

Free Resources

1. The process of developing a rubric to assess the cognitive complexity of student-generated multiple-choice questions in medical education 
2. Constructing Written Test Questions For the Basic and Clinical Sciences by NBME [Only Chapter 1 & Chapter 2] 

Subscription required (For NUS Staff you may access via NUS Library])

1. ABC of learning and teaching in medicine: Written assessment 
2. A history of assessment in medical education.  
3. Assessing Anatomy as a Basic Medical Science. [A chapter from the e-book "Teaching Anatomy: A Practical Guide"]  

PART 2: Participants are required to go through some materials in CenMED Scholar [Restricted to participants who have Access Code]

1. Participants will be given an Access Code to access the materials in CenMED Scholar by the CenMED Administrator.

2. You may need to register for an account (for new user) in CenMED Scholar before using the Access Code.

3. Once you have entered the Access Code, you may find this course in your  Learner Dashboard 

Further Reading

1. Identification of technical item flaws leads to improvement of the quality of single best Multiple Choice Questions

2. A practical discussion to avoid common pitfalls when constructing multiple-choice questions items