Transcript Group-work based assessment in distance learning

Group work based assessment
in distance learning
Dr Clare Sansom, CDE Fellow
20 July 2015
Outline
• The Open University MSc in Medicinal Chemistry
• The Role of Group Work
–Guided group work
–Independent (and examined) group work
• Technology
• Challenges, Solutions and Tips
•…
• Discussion
OU MSc in Medicinal Chemistry
Four Compulsory Modules
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S825 Research Skills in Science
S807 Molecules in Medicine
S827 Concept to Clinic
SXM810 Project Module
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30 credits
60 credits
30 credits
60 credits
This order is recommended but not prescribed
Project topic must be linked to S807 or S827
The Drug Discovery Process:
10-15 years, > $1Bn
S807
S827
A Multi-Disciplinary, Multi-Skill Industry
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Medicinal chemistry (the main focus of the MSc)
Structural biology
Bioinformatics and computational chemistry
Synthetic organic chemistry
Pharmacology
Toxicology
Clinical Medicine
Regulatory Affairs
• Teamwork is an essential skill for drug development
professionals – hence we test it extensively in S827
Who are our students?
• Many work in the pharmaceutical / biotech industry
– Graduate trainees
– Technicians
• Sales reps
• Senior nurses
• Aspiring medics
• People returning after career breaks
• A few ‘just for interest’ but less since fee rises
– Retired GPs
S827 Concept to Clinic
• An overview of the drug development pathway
• Focusing on a single therapeutic area
– pain and inflammation
• Teaches the skills required for selecting a drug target,
identifying a lead compound and modifying it into a
candidate drug
• One multiple choice test (iCMA) and three extensive
assessments (TMAs)
• Group work introduced in the third TMA
• ‘Examinable component’ (EMA) is all group work
Celecoxib
TMA03 Group Work: ‘Coxibs’
• Students are allocated to groups of 4-7 students after
the first TMA
• Each group is assigned a leader and deputy leader
based on students’ prior performance
• Groups work together to research and present the
properties of a ‘coxib’ analgesic drug
• Each student has a designated scientific role
• 50% of the marks for the TMA are given for a group
presentation
– With each student presenting their own section
Role Allocations
• Students are advised that the following topics must be
covered
– Scientific rationale
– Molecular modelling
– Pharmacodynamics
– Pharmacokinetics
– Toxicology
Combined for group of 6
– Property predictions – Dropped for group of 5
– Solubility and bioavailability
• Students can generally be allowed to choose
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Technologies for Group Interaction
• Provided by the university:
– An OU email account for each student
– Discussion forums
• A separate thread for each group
– OU Live
• A version of Blackboard Collaborate
• Used by some groups:
– Google Drive
– Dropbox
– ‘Ordinary email’
Audio / video
Participant
list
Chat box
OU Live
Whiteboard
Molecular Modelling
•An important skill to learn – and a hard one
•Only one or two students can be tested on it
Structure of Naproxen docked in COX-1 calculated with
Structure of Celecoxib docked in COX-1 calculated with
www.dockingserver.com
www.dockingserver.com
Solving ‘the molecular modelling problem’
• Increase the proportion of modelling and computational
chemistry in earlier TMAs
– Students now answer a compulsory question on
‘docking’ a potential drug molecule into a protein
receptor
• Decrease the weight given to group work in TMA03
– From 75% to 50%
• Remove the ‘least scientific’ roles from the role allocations
• Test all students’ understanding of modelling in the EMA
Independent Group Work: The EMA
• Groups are asked to design their own molecule and
present it to the examiners as if to senior managers in
a drug company
– They have free choice of the drug types covered in
the course
• Opioids
• Steroids
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
– Groups are expected to stay the same, but roles may
change
Assessing the Group Work:
The Presentation
• Once the drug has been designed each student
produces 4 slides covering their role
• The group leader assembles the group’s slides into a
complete presentation
• Groups select a time when they can all be ‘present’ in
OU Live
• Each student gives the whole presentation and
answers wide-ranging questions …
• … Followed by a short assessed group discussion
“MANGO-5” (2014)
A novel opioid antagonist
Three Drugs Designed in 2015
• Group A’s Etodoprofen: A non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug
• Group B’s Bericoxib: Another non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug
• Group C’s Nopriphine : A transdermal opioid
Assessing the Group Work:
Reflection
• Four weeks after the presentation cutoff each student
submits a ‘reflection document’ containing
– An abstract of the whole presentation
– Summaries of 5 references they used in their own
research
– A critical account of the presentation session
– A ‘peer assessment’ of their colleagues’ contributions
• Involving both scientific and personal qualities
Practical Challenges
• Students MUST meet in OU Live at the same time for
the assessment
– Across time zones and on slow connections
• One of my 2015 group leaders moved to Australia
between assessments
• She was a conscientious student who had no
objection to a very early exam
• Another student in the same group tried and failed
from a UK hotel room
Assessment Challenges
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Students are assessed on their scientific knowledge and
skills but also on contribution to the group
– Mark range is lower than for individual assessments
– Can we completely prevent ‘free-loading’?
• Some (very good) students have resented weaker
colleagues
– “S/he is preventing me from getting my Distinction…”
• Nervous students have felt intimidated: one even
withdrew
Thanks for listening
And over to you….