Objective:
In this session, you will learn more about the ETALO approach to self-directed learning and self-assessment, as well as the tools you will use to assess your learning and skills throughout the training.
By the end of this Module, you will be able to:
- Describe the self-assessment methods and tools you will be using throughout the ETALO Drill Down Training.
- Understand why and how rubrics will be used for self-assessment in this ETALO Drill Down training.
- Complete a pre-training assessment of your knowledge on diagnosing and managing open fractures and osteomyelitis and your skill drilling human bone.
Our ETALO Drill Down training course is entirely self-directed and features many modes for you, the learner, to self-assess your knowledge and psychomotor skills as you learn how to diagnose and manage open fractures and osteomyelitis.
ETALO Drill Down self-assessment methods you will see throughout the training include:
- Evaluation rubrics, which you will use to self-assess your knowledge and skills against benchmarks throughout the training (more on rubrics below).
- A pre- and post-training assessment that you will take, score, and use to assess your learning.
- The bone drilling simulator itself. Step-by-step instructions are provided to build a simulator that gives you feedback on your drilling skills, for example instructions to include a simple buzzer or flashlight on your simulator that lets you know when you've gone too far ("plunged") beyond the far cortex.
- Suggestions to engage and collaborate with a learning partner or partners along your training journey.
- Suggestions to engage with a mentor along your learning journey.
- Learner-developed videos that you will take of yourself practicing key psychomotor skills with your mobile phone and then use to assess your skills.
- Specific, guided opportunities for self-assessment, reflection, and planning throughout the Module
RUBRICS are the centerpiece of self-assessment in the ETALO training course.
What is a Rubric?[edit | edit source]
Rubrics have long been used in progressive education to assist both teachers and learners to evaluate performance in reaching a learning target. Increasingly, they are being tested and used in medical education. A rubric defines what is expected and what will be assessed. Unlike a checklist (or OSATs, which you may be familiar with from medical training), which is a list of things to be completed, and therefore binary (i.e., can do/cannot do), a rubric allows us to measure achievement against criteria and offers benchmarks to evaluate performance on the way to achieving a learning target. Rubrics are helpful tools for self-assessment, in that they offer multiple, specific benchmarks for learners to gauge their individual knowledge and skills, and the way forward to meeting the learning target.
How to Use the Rubrics for Self-Assessment[edit | edit source]
You will find a rubric for each Module (apart from Module 4 on building your simulator). Here is an example of a rubric you will use to self-assess your bone drilling skills later in the training. Please familiarize yourself with how the rubrics are set up so that you can use them throughout the training.
- At the top of each rubric, you will see a learning target.
- The column on the left-hand side lists each specific sub-skill required to meet the learning target.
- The top row lists 3 possible levels of knowledge/skill acquisition. Someone who is EMERGING on this sub-skill is just getting started. Someone who is APPROACHING is still developing this sub-skill (but is further along than emerging). Someone who MEETS the sub-skill is competent and confident in their ability.
- Each row includes the sub-skill and then key benchmarks (often with metrics) that the learner can use to self-assess their achievement against the criteria.
- You will use rubrics throughout the training to self-assess, and re-assess, your knowledge and skills. You may wish to print them out and take notes when prompted in each Module.
Assessment Rubric for Learning Target 5: I can accurately drill bone.[edit | edit source]
| SKILLS: | EMERGING
(I am just getting started on this skill) |
APPROACHING
(I am still developing this skill) |
MEETS
(I am competent and confident in this skill) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Drill hole without drill tip "walking" or slipping around the circumference | I slip often, even on animal bone.
No. of slips__/10 |
I slip occasionally.
No. of slips __/10 |
I do not slip on bone or on the PVC simulator.
No. of slips __/10 |
| 2. Control the drill bit straight and steady | I am not confident that I can control the drill straight and steady. | I am somewhat confident that I can control the drill straight and steady, but not yet consistently. | I am confident that I can control the drill bit straight and steady with consistency. |
| 3. Drill through one cortex without plunging into intramedullary canal
Note: Plunge is defined as passing through near cortex and hitting far cortex in one maneuver |
I am able to drill near the cortex but plunge into canal/cancellous bone.
No. of plunges __/10 |
I am able to drill near cortex without plunging into canal/cancellous bone most of the time.
No. of plunges __/10 |
I am able to consistently drill the far cortex without plunging.
No. of plunges __/10 |
| 4. Drill the far cortex without plunging into surrounding soft tissues | I am able to drill the far cortex, but plunge.
No. of plunges __/10 __mm. measurement of drill tip distance on far cortex OR No. of buzzes__/10 OR No. of >1cm plunges__/10 |
I am able to drill the far cortex without plunging most times.
No. of plunges __/10 __mm. measurement of drill tip distance on far cortex OR No. of buzzes__/10 OR No. of 5-10mm plunges__/10 |
I am able to consistently drill the far cortex without plunging.
No. of plunges __/10 __mm. measurement of drill tip distance on far cortex OR No. of buzzes__/10 OR No. of <5mm plunges__/10 |
While optional, we recommend that learners work through the ETALO Drill Down training in small peer groups (2-5 people). Peer assessment and feedback, support, and discussion can enhance learning and motivation.
If possible, learners can also identify one or more mentors, skilled in drilling bone and treating open fractures and osteomyelitis. Mentoring may be in-person, or can take place remotely with regular opportunities for check-ins and feedback via video call, WhatsApp messaging, or other forms of communication. Mentors can be an important resource with which learners can discuss key content and their progress and challenges. They can also solicit expert feedback on skill acquisition as they work through the training and beyond in their continuing practice and education.