Role of technology enhanced assessment in medical and dental education: A scoping review

2024-02-07T08:48:16+08:00

Background: Evolving innovative, feasible and cost effective technology related with teaching and learning in context of recent COVID-19 pandemic has led the medical educationists to think about its increased use in the assessment process. Need of the hour is to develop and establish a framework in our institutions for technology enhanced assessment (TEA) efficiently. European countries were using the e- assessment before the COVID-19 pandemic so their education system was less disturbed by it as compared to the Asian countries like Pakistan. TEA can be done with a number of tools and mobile phone technology, learning management systems (LMS) and social media have played remarkable role in this regard. The objective of this scoping review was to find best practice regarding the use of TEA in context of COVID-19 pandemic according to the Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) principles. Methods: Databases which were searched were Google Scholar, Educational Resource Information System (ERIC), Cochrane library and ScienceDirect (Elsevier). The key words and phrases which we used for search were "TEA", "Online assessment", "assessment in context of COVID-19", "Role of TEA", "Advantages and disadvantages of TEA". 1252 articles were retrieved after screening total searched articles by Mendeley software. These articles were then assessed according to the eligibility criteria and 84 articles were selected out of which finally 12 articles were included in this scoping review after assessment of quality by Qualsyst appraisal tool. Data was extracted by using data extraction form which was synthesized to create the themes by axial coding. Results: After synthesis of data following themes were identified describing the TEA. What is TEA, role of TEA. Advantages and disadvantages of TEA, measurement and implementation issues in TEA. Prime benefit of TEA is its potential to foster learning by its ability to deliver vast variety of test formats in high fidelity virtual reality situations and by providing feedback after formative assessment using number of digital tools. Major issues related to TEA are cheating, validity, quality and security of test materials. Conclusion: E-assessment tools were already being used in European countries with the intent to improve the teaching and learning activities but after the COVID-19 pandemic it became the necessity. TEA has extreme potential for improving the learning and assessment process especially in context of current COVID-19 pandemic if the available technology is used efficiently. Implementation of TEA in place of conventional assessment should be tailored according to the local requirements and context. Finally the word of caution is to be prepared to address the issues of validity, quality, cheating and security of test materials connected with this technological change.

Health Professions Education and Research

Role of technology enhanced assessment in medical and dental education: A scoping review