Biomedical subjects

C.P.M. Van Der Vleuten

Publications and source records attributed to C.P.M. Van Der Vleuten.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

An Inter- and Intra-University Comparison With Short Case-Based Testing.

Comparisons between PBL and non-PBL medical schools on problem-solving ability often show no differences. This could be either due to the fact that no difference in problem-solving skills exists or that the instruments used are inadequate. In this study a key-feature approach case-based examination was used to compare two medical schools in the Netherlands, one of which has a PBL curriculum (Maastricht) and one which has a program half way a transition from a non-PBL towards a PBL curriculum (Groningen). Differences were found both in proficiency scores and in the pattern of response times, both supporting the assumption that a PBL approach would lead to a higher level of problem solving ability. The effect size, however, is not as large as originally assumed by the PBL proponents. Conclusions must be drawn with caution, but it seems likely that a test based on large numbers of short cases is the most sensitive in detecting differences in problem solving ability between students of different curricula.

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PubMed1998

Relative or Absolute Standards in Assessing Medical Knowledge Using Progress Tests.

Norm-referenced pass/fail decisions are quite common in achievement testing in health sciences education. The use of relative standards has the advantage of correcting for variations in test-difficulty. However, relative standards also show some serious drawbacks, and the use of an absolute and fixed standard is regularly preferred. The current study investigates the consequences of the use of an absolute instead of a relative standard. The performance of the developed standard setting procedure was investigated by using actual progress test scores obtained at the Maastricht medical school in an episode of eight years. When the absolute instead of the relative standard was used 6% of the decisions changed: 2.6% of the outcomes changed from fail to pass, and 3.4% from pass to fail. The failure rate, which was approximately constant when using the relative standard, varied from 2% to 47% for different tests when an absolute standard was used. It is concluded that an absolute standard is precarious because of the variations in difficulty of tests.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

The Relation Between Time Spent on Individual Study and Academic Achievement in a Problem-Based Curriculum.

Logically a relation is expected between time spent on individual study and achievement. The purpose of this study is to examine whether a positive relation exists between the amount of time spent on individual study and academic achievement and whether this differs when using a test measuring short-term knowledge or one measuring long-term knowledge. Data were collected in a problem-based medical curriculum. The results suggest that time spent on individual study correlates poorly with scores on the test measuring short-term knowledge but also with those on the test measuring long-term knowledge. This study reaffirms the complexity of the relationship and it demonstrates the importance to search for qualitative factors about the way students learn.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

Evaluating Communication Skills.

This study investigates the construct validity of an instrument to measure the quality of communication skills, during one curriculum year of a four year longitudinal communication skills training programme. 42 Representative videotapes of students' simulated patient encounters at the beginning of the third year and 35 of the end of the year were assessed by nineteen trained observers, using the MAAS-Global criteria list. A difference in communication skill competence was found between the performance at the beginning and at the end of the third year. The specific aspects in which the students improved revealed a greater routine in conducting a doctor-patient encounter and a greater structuring capability: those communication skills that have been trained in the years before the study period, thus supporting the validity of this instrument.

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