Medical students’ perception on the usefulness of online formative assessment: A single-center, mixed-method, pilot study

BACKGROUND: Distance digital learning is newly implemented in the Indian medical institutions. Formative assessment is also conducted online. In this context, this study aimed at finding the perception on the usefulness of online formative assessment along with online classes among 1(st)-year medical students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in August 2020. The students were exposed to online classes and online formative assessments with five multiple choice questions for a period of 4 months before the conduct of the survey. An online survey was conducted (both quantitative and qualitative data collection) to ascertain the perception on the online formative assessment quiz. RESULTS: A total of 36 (14 female, 21 male, 1 did not disclose sex) 1(st)-year medical students with a mean age of 19.97 ± 1.16 years participated in the survey. The majority of the students agreed that the online quiz was a valuable learning activity and has potential to replace the face-to-face assessment. The online quizzes provided them feedback of classroom learning and helped in identifying the weak area and motivated students to the study. The qualitative data showed that students like to get a greater number of questions and also like to participate in chapter wise multiple quizzes in spare time. CONCLUSION: First-year medical students considered the online formative assessments quiz coupled with the online classes as a valuable learning activity. It provided them feedback of learning and a motivation for further study on the topic. They like to participate in anonymous quiz with a greater number of questions with online classes. The finding of this pilot study should be further evaluated with multicenter study with more participants.