ArticleBMC medical education2019
Tutor assessment of PBL process: does tutor variability affect objectivity and reliability?
Article in BMC medical education, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effect of problem-based learning combined with seminar versus traditional teaching method in medical education in China: a systematic evaluation and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Attitude and Perception of Preclinical Undergraduate Medical Students about Problem Based Learning in Medical College of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.JNMA; journal of the Nepal Medical Association · 2024Article
- Challenges to acquire similar learning outcomes across four parallel thematic learning communities in a medical undergraduate curriculum.BMC medical education · 2023Article
- Medical Students' Perspective on Assessment Mechanism During Problem-Based Learning at Debre Tabor University: An Explanatory Mixed Study.Advances in medical education and practice · 2023Article
- Article
- The impact of tutor expertise on the students' scores in active learning methods: a meta-analysis.Journal of advances in medical education & professionalism · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEnsuring objectivity and maintaining reliability are necessary in order to consider any form of assessment valid. Evaluation of students in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) tutorials by the tutors has drawn the attention of critiques citing many challenges and limitations. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of tutor variability in assessing the PBL process in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago.
methodAll 181 students of year 3 MBBS were assigned randomly to 14 PBL groups. Out of 18 tutors, 12 had an opportunity to assess three groups: one assessed 2 groups and 4 tutors assessed one group each; at the end each group had been assessed three times by different tutors. The tutors used a PBL assessment rating scale of 12 different criteria on a six-point scale to assess each PBL Group. To test the stated hypotheses, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA followed by post-hoc Bonferroni test, Intra Class Correlation, and Pearson product moment correlations were performed.
resultThe analysis revealed significant differences between the highest- and lowest-rated groups (t-ratio = 12.64; p < 0.05) and between the most lenient and most stringent raters (t-ratio = 27.96; p < 0.05). ANOVA and post-hoc analysis for highest and lowest rated groups revealed that lenient- and stringent-raters significantly contribute (p < 0.01) in diluting the score in their respective category. The intra class correlations (ICC) among rating of different tutors for different groups showed low agreement among various ratings except three groups (Groups 6, 8 and 13) (r = 0.40). The correlation between tutors' PBL experiences and their mean ratings was found to be moderately significant (r = 0.52; p > 0.05).
conclusionLeniency and stringency factors amongst raters affect objectivity and reliability to a great extent as is evident from the present study. Thus, more rigorous training in the areas of principles of assessment for the tutors are recommended. Moreover, putting that knowledge into practice to overcome the leniency and stringency factors is essential.
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