Project Investigator(s): Olusegun Oyedele, Associate Professor of Teaching, Southern Medical Program, UBC Okanagan
Project Description
Tutor feedback is central to student evaluation in the case based learning (CBL) curriculum within the Medical Undergraduate Program (MDUP) of UBC Faculty of Medicine. Tutors assess students for demonstrating skills such as communication of medical information, participation in a medical team and
clinical decision making, among others, within a group setting. There is anecdotal evidence of wide variation in the quality and effectiveness of feedback that students receive, but to our knowledge, the variability, effectiveness and factors affecting implementation of tutor feedback has not been systematically studied. This project aims to study tutor feedback in the UBC MDUP by investigating how feedback is delivered, and whether current implementation of tutor feedback within the CBL curriculum effectively meets its enunciated goals.
Research Questions
1. In the perception of medical students, how effective to their learning is the tutor feedback that they receive during CBL?
2. In the perception of tutors, how effective to students’ learning is the feedback that they give during CBL?
3. What alignment exists between the stated goals of CBL tutor feedback and its implementation, in the perception of medical students and tutors?
Impact on teaching and learning at UBC
Case based learning is still a pedagogy in evolution. Its dynamics, the role of the tutor within CBL, its effectiveness as a teaching and learning method and its many other aspects are being actively investigated. This project potentially contributes to this growing body of knowledge. Specifically at UBC, the effectiveness of CBL tutor feedback, which is a foundational pillar of this pedagogy is yet to be systematically studied. This project potentially fills this gap.