@article{walker_posner_nelson_watson_2024, title={The Transition from Letter Grading to Modified Pass-Fail Grading at a College of Veterinary Medicine: A Narrative Inquiry of Student Experiences}, ISSN={["1943-7218"]}, DOI={10.3138/jvme-2023-0125}, abstractNote={ Compared with traditional letter grading, pass/fail grading is an assessment approach that can alter the educational environment and enhance student wellbeing without compromising education quality. Little is known about the experiences of students during the transition from traditional grading to pass/fail grading. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an abrupt move to modified pass-fail (MPF) grading at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine (NCSU-CVM), followed by a decision to permanently adopt MPF grading for the entire core pre-clinical doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) curriculum. This study employed a narrative inquiry of surveys and interviews to facilitate deep understanding of student perspectives during the transition to MPF grading. Focus was placed on understanding what this transition meant for DVM students in terms of life and learning quality. Our analysis identified seven key themes that captured student experiences, which were generally positive, during this transition: education culture, student perceptions of instructor impact, shift from extrinsic to intrinsic valuation of curricular content, competitiveness for external merit-based opportunities, use of letter grading and MPF in a single semester, student recommendations, and wellbeing. Through exploration of these themes and presentation of concerns identified in students’ stories, this study provides guidance for other programs considering revision of their own assessment frameworks. }, journal={JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICAL EDUCATION}, author={Walker, Grayson K. and Posner, Lysa P. and Nelson, Laura L. and Watson, Jesse S.}, year={2024}, month={Jan} }
 @article{fox-alvarez_hostnik_conner_watson_2021, title={Development of a Formative Assessment Rubric for Peer Evaluation of Teaching (FARPET) and Pilot Use in Veterinary Online Teaching}, ISSN={["1943-7218"]}, DOI={10.3138/jvme-2021-0015}, abstractNote={ Peer evaluation of teaching (PET) serves an important role as a component of faculty development in the medical education field. With the emergence of COVID-19, the authors recognized the need for a flexible tool that could be used for a variety of lecture formats, including virtual instruction, and that could provide a framework for consistent and meaningful PET feedback. This teaching tip describes the creation and pilot use of a PET rubric, which includes six fixed core items (lesson structure, content organization, audiovisual facilitation, concept development, enthusiasm, and relevance) and items to be assessed separately for asynchronous lectures (cognitive engagement—asynchronous) and synchronous lectures (cognitive engagement—synchronous, discourse quality, collaborative learning, and check for understanding). The instrument packet comprises the rubric, instructions for use, definitions, and examples of each item, plus three training videos for users to compare with authors’ consensus training scores; these serve as frame-of-reference training. The instrument was piloted among veterinary educators, and feedback was sought in a focus group setting. The instrument was well received, and training and use required a minimum time commitment. Inter-rater reliability within 1 Likert scale point (adjacent agreement) was assessed for each of the training videos, and consistency of scoring was demonstrated between focus group members using percent agreement (0.82, 0.85, 0.88) and between focus members and the authors’ consensus training scores (all videos: 0.91). This instrument may serve as a helpful resource for institutions looking for a framework for PET. We intend to continually adjust the instrument in response to feedback from wider use. }, journal={JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICAL EDUCATION}, author={Fox-Alvarez, Stacey A. and Hostnik, Laura D. and Conner, Bobbi and Watson, J. S.}, year={2021}, month={Aug} }