Harold Bok (DVM,PhD) & Lubberta de Jong (DVM), Utrecht University, Veterinary Education, The Netherlands

Workshop description

In competency-based veterinary education emphasis has shifted towards outcomes, capabilities, and learner-centeredness. Together with emphasis on sustained evidence of professional competence this calls for new methods of teaching and assessment. Combining different assessment instruments not only counteract the downsides of using a single instrument but also provides a holistic overview of trainees’ development for both formative and summative purposes. In these assessment programs the main focus is on the provision of meaningful feedback in order for the student to attain predefined professional competencies (assessment for learning), and to maximize robustness of high-stakes decisions (assessment of learning). Since 2010 the faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, has implemented a programmatic approach to assessment during their clinical program.

 The experiences from clinical practice and evidence from educational research will be briefly presented, then, in small groups the participants will try to aggregate written narrative information and scores from different workplace-based assessment instruments in a meaningful way for formative and summative purposes. Examples of best practices will be shared. The workshop will be highly interactive, requiring participants to work in small groups and use the evidence and translate it to their assessment practices.

The participants will understand which factors influence the formative and summative functions of assessment from the perspective of clinical practice and educational research, think about possibilities of making feedback meaningful for learning in workplace-based assessment, and make robust high-stakes decisions based on written narrative and score based information.

 Bibliographic references

  1. Van der Vleuten CPM, Schuwirth LWT, Driessen EW, Dijkstra J, Tigelaar D, Baartman LKJ, van Tartwijk J. 2012. A model for programmatic assessment fit for purpose. Med Teach 34(3):205–214.
  2. Bok HGJ, Teunissen PW, Favier RP, Rietbroek NJ, Theyse LFH, Brommer H, Haarhuis JCM, van Beukelen P, van der Vleuten CPM, Jaarsma DADC. 2013a. Programmatic assessment of competency-based workplace learning: When theory meets practice. BMC Med Educ 13:123.
  3. Bok HGJ, Teunissen PW, Spruijt A, Fokkema JPI, van Beukelen P, Jaarsma DADC, van der Vleuten CPM. 2013b. Clarifying students’ feedback-seeking behaviour in clinical clerkships. Med Educ 47(3):282–291.