Assessment and feedback

Assessment and Feedback

Innovation and quality in assessment

The School’s research into assessment and feedback in medical education is led by Professor Amir Sam, the Head of our School of Undergraduate Medicine. His research focuses on innovative forms of assessment, including the development of more authentic methods of online assessment and feedback. The aim is to develop assessment processes that support positive learning behaviours and preparedness for practice and that can assess rich and complex learning outcomes.

MERU supported and funded research

  • Sam, A. H., M. D. Reid, V. Thakerar, M. Gurnell, R. Westacott, P. Yeates, M. W. R. Reed, and C. A. Brown. “The Influence of Candidates’ Physical Attributes on Assessors’ Ratings in Clinical Practice.” Med Teach  (Feb 11 2021): 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2021.1877268.  

  • Sam, A. H., M. D. Reid, V. Thakerar, M. Gurnell, R. Westacott, M. W. R. Reed, and C. A. Brown. “National Inter-Rater Agreement of Standardised Simulated-Patient-Based Assessments.” Med Teach 43, no. 3 (Mar 2021): 341-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1845909.  

  • Reid, M. D., and A. H. Sam. “Reflections on Assessment in the Wake of Change from the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Med Educ 55, no. 1 (Jan 2021): 128-30. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14368.  

  • Wynn-Lawrence, L. S., L. Bala, R. J. Fletcher, R. K. Wilson, and A. H. Sam. “Question-Based Collaborative Learning for Constructive Curricular Alignment.” Adv Med Educ Pract 11 (2020): 1047-53. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S280972.  

  • Sam, A. H., R. K. Wilson, M. Lupton, C. Melville, O. Halse, J. Harris, and K. Meeran. “Clinical Prioritisation Questions: A Novel Assessment Tool to Encourage Tolerance of Uncertainty?”. Med Teach 42, no. 4 (Apr 2020): 416-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2019.1687864.  

  • Sam, A. H., M. D. Reid, and A. Amin. “High-Stakes, Remote-Access, Open-Book Examinations.” Med Educ 54, no. 8 (Aug 2020): 767-68. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14247.  

  • Hall, C., E. Peleva, R. H. Vithlani, S. Shah, M. Bashyam, M. Ramadas, J. Horsburgh, and A. H. Sam. “Feedbk: A Novel Approach for Providing Feedback.” [In eng]. Clin Teach 17, no. 1 (Feb 2020): 76-80. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13026.  

  • Bala, L., C. van der Vleuten, A. Freeman, D. Torre, S. Heeneman, and A. H. Sam. “Covid-19 and Programmatic Assessment.” Clin Teach 17, no. 4 (Aug 2020): 420-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13207.  

  • Sam, A. H., R. Westacott, M. Gurnell, R. Wilson, K. Meeran, and C. Brown. “Comparing Single-Best-Answer and Very-Short-Answer Questions for the Assessment of Applied Medical Knowledge in 20 Uk Medical Schools: Cross-Sectional Study.” BMJ Open 9, no. 9 (Sep 26 2019): e032550. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032550.  

  • Sam, A. H., E. Peleva, C. Y. Fung, N. Cohen, E. W. Benbow, and K. Meeran. “Very Short Answer Questions: A Novel Approach to Summative Assessments in Pathology.” Adv Med Educ Pract 10 (2019): 943-48. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S197977.  

  • Sam, A. H., C. Y. Fung, R. K. Wilson, E. Peleva, D. C. Kluth, M. Lupton, D. R. Owen, C. R. Melville, and K. Meeran. “Using Prescribing Very Short Answer Questions to Identify Sources of Medication Errors: A Prospective Study in Two Uk Medical Schools.” BMJ Open 9, no. 7 (Jul 9 2019): e028863 e028863. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028863.  

  • Field, S. M., N. J. Burstow, D. R. Owen, and A. H. Sam. “Using Team-Based Revision to Prepare Medical Students for the Prescribing Safety Assessment.” Adv Med Educ Pract 10 (2019): 501-06. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S204435.  

  • Sam, A. H., S. M. Field, C. F. Collares, C. P. M. van der Vleuten, V. J. Wass, C. Melville, J. Harris, and K. Meeran. “Very-Short-Answer Questions: Reliability, Discrimination and Acceptability.” [In eng]. Med Educ 52, no. 4 (Apr 2018): 447-55. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13504.  

  • Hunukumbure, Agra Dilshani, Ameen Jubber, Rohit Chitkara, Heather Bernand, and Saroj Das. “Insight into Undergraduate Feedback of Clinical Practice: Junior Doctors Vs Consultants.” MedEdPublish 7, no. 2 (2018). https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2018.0000081.1.  

  • Hunukumbure, A. D., S. F. Smith, and S. Das. “Holistic Feedback Approach with Video and Peer Discussion under Teacher Supervision.” BMC Med Educ 17, no. 1 (Sep 29 2017): 179 179. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-017-1017-x.  

  • Sam, A. H., S. Hameed, J. Harris, and K. Meeran. “Validity of Very Short Answer Versus Single Best Answer Questions for Undergraduate Assessment.” BMC Med Educ 16, no. 1 (Oct 13 2016): 266 266. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-016-0793-z.  

  • Chu, A., and N. Salooja. “Feedback and Evaluation in an Undergraduate Teaching Skills Course.” [In eng]. Med Educ 49, no. 11 (Nov 2015): 1170. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12813.