Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar-Apr;37(2):445-449.
doi: 10.12669/pjms.37.2.3475.

Assessing the educational impact of cognitive level of MCQ and SEQ on learning approaches of dental students

Mahwish Arooj  1 , Khadijah Mukhtar  2 , Rehan Ahmed Khan  3 , Tayyaba Azhar  4
Affiliations

Assessing the educational impact of cognitive level of MCQ and SEQ on learning approaches of dental students

Mahwish Arooj et al. Pak J Med Sci. 2021 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: MCQ's and SEQ's are the most widely used assessment tool in dental colleges across Pakistan. This study explores the impact of assessment tool: MCQ's and SEQ's on learning approach of dental students and also identifies correlation between these assessment tools and deep & surface learning approaches in integrated and discipline based curriculum.

Methods: A quantitative co-relational study was conducted in 2018 on 2nd and 4th year dental students. A pre-validated "Revised Study Process Questionnaire" was used. Spearman's rho correlation coefficient and Wilcoxon signed ranks test were applied to determine the relationship between learning approaches and assessment tools. Internal consistency was calculated by Cronbach's alpha.

Results: Ninety six students out of one hundred and fifty completed the questionnaire. Correlation test showed that surface approach correlates significantly with MCQ's (0.73) while no co-relation exists with SEQ's (-0.14) in our study. Deep approach has a strong and significant correlation with SEQ's (0.80) as compared to MCQ's (0.056).

Conclusion: Assessment tool has an impact on learning approaches used by the students. It was concluded that students used to prefer deep learning approach while preparing for SEQ's as they were designed at higher cognitive level, whereas, they preferred surface approach while preparing for MCQ's as they were developed at low cognitive order.

Keywords: Learning approaches; MCQ’s and SEQ’s; Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

References

    1. Parpala A, Lindblom-Ylänne S, Komulainen E, Litmanen T, Hirsto L. Students'approaches to learning and their experiences of the teaching–learning environment in different disciplines. Br J Educ Psychol. 2010;80(2):269–282. doi:10.1348/000709909X476946. - PubMed
    1. Richardson JT. Students'approaches to learning and teachers'approaches to teaching in higher education. Educ Psychol. 2005;25(6):673–680. doi:10.1080/01443410500344720.
    1. McLean M, Cilliers F, Van Wyk JM. Faculty development:yesterday today and tomorrow. Med Teach. 2008;30(6):555–584. doi:10.1080/01421590802109834. - PubMed
    1. Salamonson Y, Weaver R, Chang S, Koch J, Bhathal R, Khoo C, Wilson I. Learning approaches as predictors of academic performance in first year health and science students. Nurse Educ Today. 2013;33(7):729–733. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2013.01.013. - PubMed
    1. Dolmans DH, Loyens SM, Marcq H, Gijbels D. Deep and surface learning in problem-based learning:a review of the literature. Adv in Health Sci Educ. 2016;21:1087–1112. doi:10.1007/s10459-015-9645-6. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources