Surveys of Medical Students for Evaluating Education / 医学教育

I investigated the use of surveys of medical students attending Osaka Medical College for evaluating education. Questionnaires were distributed to fourth-year students twice, in 2001 and 2002. Both signed and anonymous questionnaires were used each time. The recovery rates for the signed questionnaires were 100% in 2001 and 2002, and those for anonymous questionnaires were 93.1% and 81.5%, respectively. The students believed that the lectures had good points but could be improved. Evaluation scores were higher for 63.3% of items on the second questionnaire, a finding that suggests lectures have improved. Free opinions were offered by 30% to 40% of respondents and included concrete suggestions for improving lectures. These results suggest that evaluation of medical education by students is useful for teaching-staff development and, in particular, for improving lectures at Osaka Medical College.

Opinions of the Medical Faculty on Student Evaluations of Faculty Teaching / 医学教育

Medical students in the second to fifth years evaluated all classroom lectures and laboratories in 1998. To clarify the faculty's opinions on student evaluations, in 2000 a questionnaire survey was given to 420 members of the teaching staff, of whom 137 (33%) responded. One hundred three (81.1%) instructors immediately checked the questionnaires after the classroom lecture or laboratory session, of whom 100 reported that the questionnaires were helpful for preparing subsequent lectures. One hundred nine faculty members replied that student evaluations of faculty teaching were meaningful, and 109 supported similar surveys in the future. Although conducting surveys of many students requires considerable time and cost, an effective feedback system plays an important role for both faculty and students.

Effects on Evaluation of Education of Faculty Members by Students Using the Minutes Paper at Tokai University School of Medicine / 医学教育

We investigated the effects of evaluation of education by medical students using the minutes paper, which was developed by Professor Yasuoka, also of Tokai University. The minutes paper consists of 3 questions with 10 gradedchoices and of 8 questions with 2 graded choices. One of the 3 questions with 10 graded choices asks a general impression of a lecture. Every faculty member at the Tokai University School of Medicine should be evaluated once a year by students using the minutes paper. A total of 202 faculty members were evaluated in 1999 or in 2000, and 73 of these faculty members were evaluated in both 1999 and 2000. The faculty members were divided into 3 groups (low grade, moderate grade, and high grade) on the basis of their grades in 1999. In 2000, the low-grade group achieved higher evaluation scores, whereas the moderate-and high-grade groups did not. These results suggest that our evaluation system with minutes papers was effective for improving teaching faculty members with low grades.

Evaluation of Faculty and Students in Medical Education on the Basis of Small Problem-Based Learning Groups: A Questionnaire Survey of Medical Education Abroad. The Current Situation of the Medical Education Abroad from the Results of the Questionnaire Su / 医学教育

To introduce problem-based learning (PBL) in small groups to medical education in Japan, a questionnaire was sent to 10 foreign medical schools where PBL has been used. Five schools in the United States and one each in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia responded to all 15 questions concerning their educational system, faculty training, faculty evaluation, and student evaluation. The faculty is trained in 7 medical schools, retrained in 4, and self-trained in 5. The faculty is objectively evaluated by students and a faculty committee in seven schools and the results are returned to the faculty. The students are evaluated by self-evaluation, written tests, and oral examination in al schools, and also by peer-evaluation in one school. The evaluation of students directly affects their promotion in all schools but one. Such effective evaluation and feedback systems, including evaluations of the students' learning skills and their attitude toward learning, play important roles in effective PBL.