amcunningham’s posterous

2 presentations from AMEE. Prague 2008

Should reflection be assessed? The student perspective
Martina Kelly*1, Siun O Flynn*, Geraldine Boylan*2 (1Dept of General Practice, 2School of Medicine University College Cork,
Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, Cork, Ireland)
Background: Reflection is widely advocated as a professional skill and is increasingly incorporated into medical education curricula,
as such it is likely to be assessed. Yet little is known about what students think about reflection and how it should be assessed.
Summary of work: After engaging in reflective practice for one academic year, a group of third year medical students were surveyed
to gauge their opinions on the value of reflection. Results were correlated with basic demographics and learning style (Index of
Learning Styles, Feldman & Soloman).

Summary of results: Out of a class of 129, a response rate of 66% was obtained. 54% of students valued writing reflections and
25% reported that they would continue the process even if no marks were awarded. The main barrier to reflective practice was the
process of writing it down – many reported this was an activity they engaged in mentally. Many students felt that assessment would
detract from the honesty of their reflections. A open relationship between assessor and student was considered fundamental to the
learning process. Students with a reflecting style showed no preference towards reflection. Older students were more likely to value
reflection. Peer assessment was not acceptable for this group of students.
Take-home messages: If reflection is to be assessed, considerable engagement with students is essential to ensure it remains a valid
exercise."

"A multi-institutional investigation of undergraduate medical students’ perception of reflective
learning in the curriculum
Pirashanthie Vivekananda-Schmidt* and the NPPD Consortium Research Group on Undergraduate Reflective Practice (Academic
Unit of Medical Education, Sheffield University, 85 Wilkinson Street, Sheffield S10 2GJ, United Kingdom)
Background: The reflective components of Personal and Professional Development (PPD) in the Northern Medical Schools’ PPD
(NPPD) Consortium are driven by different pedagogical curricular perspectives.
Aim: To discover medical students’ perception of reflective learning in four NPPD consortium medical schools.
Summary of work: Focus groups with second year students were undertaken at Sheffield, Leeds, Hull/York and Manchester medical
schools in 2007. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed.
Summary of results: Data analysis by a thematic approach generated four key themes: understanding of reflection, factors that
promote and support reflection, barriers to reflection and reflection and future practice.
Conclusions: The findings will inform the curriculum for PPD by increasing awareness of the potential barriers and leading to improved
communication of the purpose, process and outcomes.
Take-home messages: (1) Successful embedding of RP requires tutors who promote and value reflection themselves. (2) Introduction
of RP in the early years of the curriculum received mixed reactions. (3) Peer driven reflective processes were popular. (4) Written
reflections were perceived both as supporting and hindering the development of reflective skills. (5) Assessment was perceived as
hindering the development of reflective skills.
Acknowledgements: Stark P, Marshall M, McKendree J, Sandars J, Smithson S, Wass V."

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