Teacher-led versus student-led seminar blended with portfolio for “assessment of learning”: An interventional study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Increase in competitive demands has led to the promotion of seminar presentation by the students to increase active learning and for the assessment of learning. Portfolios are an important tool for assessment for learning. The objectives of the study were to compare the gain in knowledge among the conventional and the blended seminar groups (intervention group), analyze the working portfolios to assess for learning, and to gather the perception of students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was an interventional study (2016) with convenience sampling that included 27 students each in the conventional and interventional groups. It was conducted in a medical college in central India. The conventional group was teacher led and the blended seminar group was student led with interaction with the students regarding the contents of the portfolio. Student's unpaired and paired t tests were used for statistical analysis. P 50% in the posttest scores. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that seminar when blended with portfolio yielded positive results in the process of learning, and hence was effective in assessment for learning.

Keywords

• assessment for learning
• portfolio
• reflection
• seminar