Aims

The aims of this module are to support students in gaining a basic understanding of how assessment is used in healthcare settings, including the fundamental principles of assessment and an exploration of different assessment modalities.

Intended learning outcomes

By the end of this module, we hope you will be able to:

Understand the basic principles of assessment in the setting of Healthcare Professions Education
	Describe the practical steps necessary to design and set an examination in a healthcare setting.
	Explain the strengths and weaknesses of some of the types of assessment used in clinical education, in particular those relevant to your setting.
	Feel confident in discussing some of the issues relating to Assessment of Professionalism
Course content

The module is for any health care professional whose education practice includes assessment, or who would like to develop their expertise in this area for future practice in assessment.

This may include healthcare professionals who have responsibilities in setting and/ or delivering examinations; in undertaking Workplace Based Assessment; in supervisory roles, such as Nursing or Pharmacy Preceptors, or Clinical/ Educational Supervisors.

This module is also suitable for those who are not in supervisory or assessment roles, and who wish to learn the fundamentals of assessment as part of a broad foundation in Health Professions Education.

This module aims to support you to

Gain a better understanding of assessments in clinical and medical education, from both theoretical and practical perspectives;
	Find out more about effective strategies for improving assessments in your clinical environment;
	Improve your existing skills to become a more effective clinical educator or supervisor.
Through interactive distance learning, this module will support you to develop an up to date knowledge of assessments. You will be introduced to the theoretical underpinnings of assessing students, trainees, and junior healthcare practitioners, drawing on clinical education research and the wider educational literature.

Learning on this module involves self-directed study at Master’s level, which includes proactively reading peer-reviewed journal articles, with a critical mindset.

Mode of delivery

This module will be delivered using both activities on Moodle, (UCL’s Virtual Learning Environment), and live ‘synchronous’ sessions on Zoom (including a Synchronous Day of study and Live Web Tutorials). The eight-week programme of study is structured in one- or two-week ‘Units’ of study, which students undertake in a self-directed manner, using learning activities on Moodle, which are announced at the start of each week. Self-directed study is supported by regular 90-minute Live Web Tutorials with module tutors, throughout the module and one ‘Synchronous Day’ of live teaching. These give students the chance to explore key topics alongside their peers and tutors, to ‘check in’ regarding more challenging aspects of learning, and to receive feedback during assignment preparation. Although these are recorded, we strongly encourage students to attend the live tutorials to support you to get to know your group, and get the most from your learning.

This self-directed approach combines educational methods that encourage reflection on personal experience, critical thinking and access to extensive online resources. Using the Moodle platform will allow you to engage in collaborative learning with your peers, and to be in regular contact with module tutors for academic support. The teaching approach will vary depending on the type of learning activity. At times there will be close facilitation of online activities, and at others learning will be more self-directed, or involve peer feedback. Tutors are available for any queries via the “Help” forum on the Moodle page.

Students will be expected to engage with mandatory activities on Moodle every week. Study is divided into 1-4 week units, each with its own theme, course materials, reading list and learning activities. Each week you will work through course materials, which include recommended readings and other materials, and undertake learning activities in collaboration with peers. In order to allow peer discussion regarding the issues at the core of each unit’s learning, there will be a weekly or two-weekly deadline for completing the learning activities so that all students are posting in the forums during the same one or two week period.

Summative Assessment: 

The module is assessed with submission of a 2000 word assignment. There are two choices for the assessment. Students may either write an assignment on formative assessment, critically drawing on the literature to discuss the formative impact of two chosen assessments, or create and critically justify (according to the relevant literature) a novel assessment suitable to their education setting.

 