A Study on the Performance and Perception of Medical students in Online Spotter versus Traditional Spotter Examinations

INTRODUCTION: Medical institutions around the world are exploring various newer modes of teaching and assessment methods to incorporate into the teaching curriculum. In this changing situation, e-learning methods are being widely used. For determining the effectiveness of a new learning method, assessment should be done since learning and assessment are intricately associated. One such newer method of testing practical anatomy knowledge is online spotter examination. The present study was conducted to correlate the students’ performance between traditional and online spotter exam and analyse the students’ perception about both exam patterns. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 120 first year medical students after obtaining ethical approval from the Institute Research and Ethics committee. Students were selected using simple random sampling method. Two modes of practical examination, traditional and online spotter, were conducted. After the examination, mean scores of OSE and TSE were compared using independent sample t-test. A questionnaire was given to collect data on their perception about the exam pattern, and the responses were scored using Likert scale. RESULTS: The performance mean score in online spotter exam was higher compared to traditional spotter exam. Analysis of the students’ perception about the exam pattern revealed that they preferred the online examination. This could be attributed to advantages of online teaching and learning using audio-visual aids with good quality images (84=70%), easy to answer in multiple choice question (78=65%), quick results (108=90%), absence of bias in evaluation (108=90%), easy for future online postgraduate entrance exams (114=95%), and overall time limit and its advantages (84=70%);the only drawback was anxiety about internet connectivity (96=80%). CONCLUSION: Online spotter exam can be conducted for routine formative assessment under controlled conditions to improve the students’ knowledge and enhance their confidence and adaptability for future online exams.