ABSTRACT
Although gathering and processing information are essential to medical problem solving, little is known about what strategies students use to gather information or how they use their cognitive skills to solve problems. We have developed computer-based problem-solving exercises in immunology to determine how students gather and process information. Graphic representations of students' search paths through different problems were developed to visualize how organized and focused their knowledge was, how well their organization related to critical concepts in immunology, where serious misconceptions (confusion or erroneous models) occurred, and whether proper knowledge links between conceptual domains existed. With rapid generation and interpretation of information on patterns and difficulties in problem solving, it should become possible to develop a specific and personal approach to each student's educational needs.
Subject(s)
Computer-Assisted Instruction , Education, Medical/methods , Problem Solving/physiology , Students, Medical/psychology , California , Curriculum , Educational Measurement , Humans , SoftwareABSTRACT
Administering a microcomputer-based problem-solving examination in the basic sciences to medical students poses a series of practical concerns not associated with traditional types of testing. This article reviews the issues of planning, student preparation, exam scheduling, student verification, and software security. Also discussed are the effects on student scores of exam scheduling and of students' familiarity with computers, student evaluations of the exam, and security and technical difficulties.
Subject(s)
Educational Measurement/methods , Microcomputers , Problem Solving , Allergy and Immunology , Learning , Los Angeles , Microbiology , Students, MedicalABSTRACT
A study was designed to determine the feasibility of creating and administering computer-based problem-solving examinations for evaluating second-year medical students in immunology and to determine how students would perform on these tests relative to their performances on concurrently administered objective and essay examinations. The results indicate that problem-solving questions of uniform difficulty can be created and that correct solution of the problems correlates with the early selection of the most relevant data. The mean scores on the three types of tests were not significantly different. The scores on the essay and objective examinations were most highly correlated, those on the computer-based and objective examinations were minimally correlated, and those on the computer-based and essay examinations were not correlated.
Subject(s)
Allergy and Immunology/education , Computer-Assisted Instruction , Education, Medical, Undergraduate , Educational Measurement/methods , MicrocomputersABSTRACT
Discusses the use of licensing agreements for health sciences audiovisuals. The difference between productions covered by the copyright law vis-a-vis those with licensing agreements is explored and representative examples of agreements are provided. Health sciences producers have turned to licensing agreements for several reasons including the protection of their productions from illegal duplication. Whereas these agreements may protect producers, they also may unintentionally bar legitimate users from viewing programs and may also create additional work for LRCs and libraries.
