Effect of different scoring approaches upon credit assignment when using Multiple True-False items in dental undergraduate examinations.

INTRODUCTION: Various scoring approaches for Multiple True-False (MTF) items exist. This study aimed at comparing scoring results obtained with different scoring approaches and to assess the effect of item cues on each scoring approaches' result. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different scoring approaches (MTF, Count-2, Count-3, "Vorkauf-Method," PS50 , Dichotomized MTF, "Blasberg-Method," Multiple response (MR), Correction for Guessing, "Ripkey-Method," Morgan-Method, Balanced Scoring Method) were retrospectively applied to all MTF items used within electronic examinations of undergraduate dental students at the University Medical Center Göttingen in the winter term 2016/2017 (1297 marking events). Item quality was evaluated regarding formal parameters such as presence of cues and correctness of content. Differences between scoring results of all scoring approaches and the differences between each methods' scoring results of items with and without cues were calculated by Wilcoxon rank sum tests (P < .05). RESULTS: Average scoring results per item highly differed between the scoring approaches and ranged from 0.46 (MR) to 0.92 (Dichotomized MTF). Presence of cues leads to significantly higher scoring in case of all scoring approaches (P < .001; +0.14 on average). However, effect of cues differed amongst scoring approaches and ranged from +0.04 (Dichotomized MTF) to +0.20 (MR). CONCLUSION: Scoring of MTF items is complex. The data presented in this manuscript may help educators make informed choices about scoring algorithms.

The effect of repeated testing vs repeated practice on skills learning in undergraduate dental education.

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies in undergraduate medical education have demonstrated the advantage of repeated testing over repeated practice with regard to knowledge and skills retention. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this "testing effect" also applies to skills retention in undergraduate dental education. METHODS: In this prospective, randomised controlled trial, fourth-year dental students at Göttingen University Medical Centre participated in a training session on surgical suturing in winter term 2014/2015. Following this, they were either assigned to two sessions of additional skills training (group A) or two sessions of skills assessment with feedback (group B). These sessions were spaced over a period of 4 weeks. Skills retention was assessed in a summative objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) at the end of term, that is 6 months after the initial teaching session. RESULTS: A total of 32 students completed the study. With regard to suturing, OSCE performance was significantly better in group B than group A (81.9±13.1% vs 63.0±15.4%; P=0.001; Cohen's d=1.33). There was no significant OSCE performance difference in the two groups with regard to other learning objectives that were addressed in the end-of-term examination. Thus, the group difference was specific to suturing skills. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate that in dental education, repeated testing produces more favourable skills retention than repeated practice. Test-enhanced learning might be a viable concept for skills retention in undergraduate dentistry education.

Second primary malignancies in head and neck cancer patients: high prevalence of curable-stage disease.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients treated for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) carry a high risk of second primary malignancies (SPM). Recently, computed tomography (CT) of the chest was shown to significantly decrease the risk of death due to bronchial carcinoma (BC) in a cohort of smokers whose risk of BC is increased but might be lower than that of patients previously treated for HNSCC. Thus, the present study evaluated the potential benefit of CT and other examinations in the detection of SPM in HNSCC patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between July 2008 and November 2011, 118 participants underwent a prospective, systematic examination for SPM (13 women, 105 men, median age 62 years). All patients had been previously treated for HNSCC and showed no recurrence or distant metastases at the time of the study start. CT scans, ear-nose-throat endoscopy, and endoscopy of the esophagus and stomach were performed. RESULTS: Overall, 33 suspicious findings were clarified by additional investigations. In all, 26 SPM were confirmed in 21 of 118 patients (18%; 10 lung, 7 HNSCC, 3 gastrointestinal, 1 renal). Eighteen of these 21 patients (86%) underwent therapy with curative intent. CONCLUSION: The examinations revealed a high prevalence of curable stage SPM in HNSCC patients. Adapting a surveillance scheme including a chest CT is recommended.