Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance. Issue 1108 (2nd September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Walsh, Jason L; Harris, Benjamin H L; Denny, Paul; Smith, Phil
• Is Part Of: Postgraduate medical journal. Volume 94:Issue 1108(2018)
• Page Start: 97
• Page End: 103
• Publication Date: 2017-09-02
• Subjects: peerwise -- SBA -- single-best answer -- question bank -- MCQ -- formative -- summative -- student question writing -- student authored -- student contributing pedagogy -- trolling -- faculty review -- gamification -- student-authored question quality; Medicine -- Periodicals; 610
• DOI: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2017-135018
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0032-5473

Abstract

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.