Improving Student Feedback Quality: A Simple Model Using Peer Review and Feedback Rubrics.

Constructive feedback is an important aspect of medical education to help students improve performance in cognitive and clinical skills assessments. However, for students to appropriately act on feedback, they must recognize quality feedback and have the opportunity to practice giving, receiving, and acting on feedback. We incorporated feedback literacy into a case-based concept mapping small group-learning course. Student groups engaged in peer review of group-constructed concept maps and provided written peer feedback. Faculty also provided written feedback on group concept maps and used a simple rubric to assess the quality of peer feedback. Groups were provided feedback on a weekly basis providing an opportunity for timely improvement. Precourse and postcourse evaluations along with peer-review feedback assessment scores were used to show improvement in both group and individual student feedback quality. Feedback quality was compared to a control student cohort that engaged in the identical course without implementing peer review or feedback assessment. Student feedback quality was significantly improved with feedback training compared to the control cohort. Furthermore, our analysis shows that this skill transferred to the quality of student feedback on course evaluations. Feedback training using a simple rubric along with opportunities to act on feedback greatly enhanced student feedback quality.

Case-Based Group Learning Using Concept Maps to Achieve Multiple Educational Objectives and Behavioral Outcomes.

Knowledge integration is an important aspect of education. In clinical education, there is an emphasis on the integration of basic medical science with clinical practice to provide a higher order of comprehension for future physicians. Also of importance in medical education is the promotion and development of professional behaviors (i.e., teamwork and interpersonal professional behavior). We set out to design and implement a weekly, 2 hour educational active learning activity for first-year preclinical medical students to foster knowledge integration and to promote professional development. As part of our case-based curriculum, we used a small-group active-learning approach involving 3 stages: concept mapping, student peer-review, and student group evaluation. Specific learning objectives and behavioral outcomes were designed to focus the learning activities. Rubrics were designed to (1) assess learners' group generated concept maps, (2) determine effective student peer review, and (3) appropriate evaluation of group dynamics. In addition to assessment data from the rubrics, course evaluations from participating students were collected. Analysis of rubric assessments and student evaluation data confirmed that there was significant statistical achievement in critical thinking and teamwork among students. Furthermore, when analyzing concept mapping scores between the first and last case, the data displayed significant statistical improvement supporting that student groups were further integrating basic science and clinical concepts. Our concept map-based active-learning approach achieved our designated objectives and outcomes.

Bacterial endospores and their significance in stress resistance.

In terms of resistance to extreme environmental stresses, the bacterial spore represents a pinnacle of evolution. Spores are highly resistant to a wide variety of physical stresses such as: wet and dry heat, UV and gamma radiation, oxidizing agents, chemicals, and extremes of both vacuum and ultrahigh hydrostatic pressure. Some of the molecular mechanisms underlying spore resistance properties have been elucidated in the laboratory, and involve both: (i) protection of vital spore macromolecules during dormancy, and (ii) repair of damaged macromolecules during germination. Our group has recently become interested in testing if the laboratory model of spore UV resistance is relevant to spore persistence in the environment. We have constructed a number of Bacillus subtilis strains which are defective in various DNA repair systems and spore structural components. Using spores of these strains, we have been exploring: (i) the types of damage induced in DNA by the UV-B and UV-A components of sunlight; (ii) the relative contribution of the major spore DNA repair systems to spore solar radiation resistance; and (iii) the role of spore structural components such as the spore coats and dipicolinic acid (DPA) in attenuation of the lethal and mutagenic effects of solar UV. The current data are reviewed with the ultimate goal of obtaining a complete model describing spore persistence and longevity in the terrestrial solar UV radiation environment.