Designing and Delivering Open-book Invigilated Assessments: Sharing Experiences
Open-book assessments (OBAs) aim to develop and test students' higher order critical thinking including the application, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of knowledge. These attributes move beyond the traditional assessment of knowledge recall and are particularly important to inculcate in veterinary undergraduates transitioning into the later, more clinically focused part of their training. OBAs, if designed appropriately for the teaching context, can encourage deeper rather than surface learning and may reduce student anxiety around assessment (Cox et al., 2021; Davies et al., 2022; Er et al., 2023; Zagury-Orly & Durning, 2021). This assessment strategy more closely mirrors the diagnostic approach of a practising veterinarian and as such is more ‘authentic’ in nature.
The subject Veterinary Pathobiology at UCD incorporates veterinary microbiology, parasitology and pathology and is taught within two 10 ECTS credit modules in the 12 week autumn trimester of the third year of the five-year veterinary programme. Following the disruption to traditional assessment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, pathobiology academics developed a timed, open-book format of assessment where students would be examined via UCD’s virtual learning environment (VLE), Brightspace, on their own laptops in an invigilated setting on campus. Students are permitted access to printed notes and textbooks but not to digital resources during the exam. Key to this innovative approach was the recognition that Brightspace-mediated assessments would facilitate the use of high-quality colour images of pathogens and pathological processes to enhance the authenticity of the examination. The exam consists of both Single Best Answer multiple choice questions (SBA) and short answer questions (SAQs), providing an opportunity to ask more subject-integrated questions: for example, a student is required to apply knowledge of pathology to a question largely focussed on microbiology and/or parasitology. It was also considered that this change of format might modify the student approach to learning and examination preparation, more closely replicating learning processes adopted post-graduation (lifelong learners). It was also considered that a proportion of students, previously unfamiliar with OBAs, might mistakenly think that they did not have to prepare for this form of examination and that they could simply find the answers in their notes or textbooks during the exam.
In this workshop we will share our experiences (including the challenges) to date in the design and delivery of this mode of assessment.
By the end of the workshop participants will;
- Discuss the opportunities of open-book examinations to support student learning.
- Debate the pedagogical and logistical challenges of incorporating open-book examinations in a module’s assessment strategy.
- Explore question formats that are suitable for online open-book examinations.
- Discuss the challenges of delivering online open-book examinations and identify key considerations to be addressed.
- Debate the future of open-book examinations in veterinary undergraduate education.
References:
Cox, L. A., Hariharan, R. T., & Aung, Y. Y.-M. (2021). Open book examinations: A student’s perspective. Medical Teacher, 43(6), 724–724. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1832652
Davies, D. J., McLean, P. F., Kemp, P. R., Liddle, A. D., Morrell, M. J., Halse, O., Martin, N. M., & Sam, A. H. (2022). Assessment of factual recall and higher-order cognitive domains in an open-book medical school examination. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 27(1), 147–165. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-021-10076-5
Er, H. M., Wong, P. S., & Nadarajah, V. D. (2023). Remote online open book examinations: through the lenses of faculty and students in health professions programmes. BMC Medical Education, 23(1), 397. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04368-0
Zagury-Orly, I., & Durning, S. J. (2021). Assessing open-book examination in medical education: The time is now. Medical Teacher, 43(8), 972–973. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1811214