Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance

Walsh, Jason L, Harris, Benjamin H L, Denny, Paul and Smith, Phil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4250-2562 2018. Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance. Postgraduate Medical Journal 94 (1108) , pp. 97-103. 10.1136/postgradmedj-2017-135018

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Purpose of the study There are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions. Study design We introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603). We looked at their patterns of PeerWise usage; identified associations between student engagement and summative exam performance; and used focus groups to assess student perceptions of the value of PeerWise for learning. We undertook item analysis to assess question difficulty and quality. Results Over two academic years, the two cohorts wrote 4671 questions, answered questions 606 658 times and posted 7735 comments. Question writing frequency correlated most strongly with summative performance (Spearman’s rank: 0.24, p=<0.001). Student focus groups found that: (1) students valued curriculum specificity; and (2) students were concerned about student-authored question quality. Only two questions of the 300 ’most-answered' questions analysed had an unacceptable discriminatory value (point-biserial correlation <0.2). Conclusions Item analysis suggested acceptable question quality despite student concerns. Quantitative and qualitative methods indicated that PeerWise is a valuable study tool.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Publisher:	BMJ Publishing Group
ISSN:	0032-5473
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 June 2019
Date of Acceptance:	31 July 2017
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 11:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/123416

Citation Data

Cited 29 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item