Presentations assessing public speaking skills are common features of undergraduate curricula. Performance feedback has often been traditionally limited to staff, yet students acting as peer assessors can also be a useful feedback source. Additionally, video recording offers a feedback method that can overcome a presentation's transience and empower a student's selfanalysis. During 2016-17 a new 1st year module, 'Core Skills in Biochemistry', was implemented at the University of Nottingham. Peer assessment and video feedback were trialled as augmentations to lecturer-sourced presentation feedback. Student opinions were surveyed to gauge efficacy. Results indicate video feedback was appreciated to a greater extent than peer feedback, and both focussed on body language. As the year progressed students felt less confident in their colleagues' judgement, and their willingness to receive peer feedback decreased. These results confirmed the validity of including these techniques within 'Core Skills', and laid the foundation for further innovations currently being trialled.
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Background
The support of student wellbeing features highly in all higher education institutional agendas. For medical students good physical and mental health can help prevent burnout, equip students for their future healthcare setting and indirectly improve patient care. At the University of Nottingham (UK), we were keen to explore undergraduate medical students perceived wellbeing before, during, and after an early years’ (years 1-3) curriculum change. A restructure of the curriculum enabled personal wellbeing sessions to be embedded and directly linked to the pastoral support system.
Methods
Students’ perceived wellbeing was assessed through a questionnaire distributed to three cohorts of first year students at the start and end of the autumn semester.
Results
The data showed a clear improvement of perceived physical health at the end of the first semester following the curriculum change, alongside increased mood and ability to relax. A surprising outcome of this study was that students reported increased stress levels at the end of the semester, which we believe may be attributed to the change in assessment within the new curriculum. Our medical students are now facing end of year summative examinations, but are acutely aware of their progress as they undertake frequent formative assessments during the year. We propose that comparison of performance with peers is having a direct impact on perceived stress in these cohorts.
Conclusions
The study has shown that embedding wellbeing in the curriculum can have positive effects even within a changing curriculum. The importance of evolving wellbeing provision and support based on the needs of the student population is essential and probably never more in need than at this moment in time.
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