A Mentor-Based Portfolio Program to Evaluate Pharmacy Students’ Self-Assessment Skills |
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Authors: | Lindsay R. Kalata Marie A. Abate |
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Affiliation: | aMylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Morgantown, West Virginia;bWest Virginia University School of Pharmacy, Morgantown, West Virginia |
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Abstract: | Objective. To evaluate pharmacy students'' self-assessment skills with an electronic portfolio program using mentor evaluators.Design. First-year (P1) and second-year (P2) pharmacy students used online portfolios that required self-assessments of specific graded class assignments. Using a rubric, faculty and alumni mentors evaluated students'' self-assessments and provided feedback. Assessment. Eighty-four P1 students, 74 P2 students, and 59 mentors participated in the portfolio program during 2010-2011. Both student groups performed well overall, with only a small number of resubmissions required. P1 students showed significant improvements across semesters for 2 of the self-assessment questions; P2 students'' scores did not differ significantly. The P1 scores were significantly higher than P2 scores for 3 questions during spring 2011. Mentors and students had similar levels of agreement with the extent to which students put forth their best effort on the self-assessments.Conclusion. An electronic portfolio using mentors based inside and outside the school provided students with many opportunities to practice their self-assessment skills. This system represents a useful method of incorporating self-assessments into the curriculum that allows for feedback to be provided to the students. |
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Keywords: | portfolio assessment self-assessment professional development mentor |
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