Less Points, Less Stress, Better Learning in a Skills Laboratory Course Using Alternative Grading

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of alternative grading strategies on students' knowledge and confidence in a redesigned pharmacy skills laboratory course.

Methods: Alternative grading strategies including revise-and-resubmit assignments, purposeful peer and instructor feedback, and self-reflection were used to partially replace traditional grading strategies. Pre-post knowledge and confidence surveys were administered to 3 consecutive cohorts of students. Cohort 1 (N = 65) was exposed to traditional assessment strategies and was used as the control arm. Cohorts 2 (N = 59) and 3 (N = 51) were exposed to alternative grading strategies and were used as the intervention arms. Cohort 3 completed an additional postsurvey to evaluate students' perceptions of alternative grading strategies.

Results: Students enrolled in a pharmacy skills laboratory course at a single institution demonstrated increased pre-to-post knowledge and confidence when assessed using both traditional and alternative grading strategies. Students in the alternative grading cohort entered the course with statistically significant lower levels of knowledge of institutional pharmacy-related topics but exited the course with higher levels of knowledge of institutional pharmacy-related topics as compared to the traditionally graded cohort.

Conclusion: Findings from the evaluation of a two-year course redesign indicated that transitioning from a traditional to an alternative grading strategy resulted in similar or higher learning outputs and a significant increase in students' confidence in institutional pharmacy practice skills and abilities.

Keywords: Alternative grading; Feedback; Pharmacy skills laboratory; Reflection; Traditional grading.