Prior to writing a critical analysis paper
Fill the organizer below
Problem addressed this
semester
Roots of problem
Topic sentence 1 and Ts 2 of
previous literature Review)
Article you chose (Title)
And APA Referencing
Gaps that the researcher
pointed out to in the Literature
Review of this article
Inaccuracy of SETs
Recent studies have showed that SET results are usually incorrect.
Pervious researches have showed that SETs can be bias on many levels especially gender, and affect teachers’ promotions.
Using examination performance data and focus groups to inform teaching – a case study from final year students of
veterinary medicine
McAloon, C. G., Kelly, E., Rackard, S., McAloon, C., Beltman, M., O’Grady, L., Viora, L, Crowe, M, Doherty, M. L., &
Ryan, E. G. (2020). Using examination performance data and focus groups to inform teaching–a case study from
final year students of veterinary medicine. Irish veterinary journal, 73, 1-6.
However, a potential criticism of this approach is that these Even though quantitative method is the most common in.
survey- type instruments in general have a low response rate SET, it has its drawbacks such as low response rate and
and are potentially subject to a range of student biases. being bias.
Furthermore, surveys in general do not facilitate the capture of Surveys are usually shallow when it comes to capturing
“deeper” data relating to the thoughts, feelings and thoughts, feelings, and experiences of students.
experiences of the participants.
However, there are less examples of the use of examination Students’ examination can be hard to perform due to the lack
data to evaluate teaching at the ‘micro’ level. of data regarding this process.
Sentence(s) that indicate the
researcher’s attempt to fill gap
(s)
Methodology
Major Findings (conclusion /
Discussion)
Such data may be obtained through qualitative approaches.
Focus groups offer a means of capturing qualitative data
relating to students’ thoughts on course structure.
Aside from student evaluations, student performance in
examinations may be used as a means of evaluating teaching
effectiveness.
Place:
Participants:
Tools:
The combination of qualitative focus group student feedback
and quantitative data analysis of examination performance
represent useful methods for identifying problems associated
with specific aspects of teaching farm animal veterinary
teaching, highlighting potential ways to improve that teaching,
and to monitor the impact of those changes on student
performance.
After redesign of the delivery of teaching in this area within
the final year rotation, we observed a statistically significant
increase in the mean score for the question, as well as a
significant decrease in the proportion of students failing the
question. These findings reflect increasing movement in
medical education from teacher- to student-centered learning.
This movement encourages students to take greater
responsibility for their own learning, facilitating greater
Following a qualitative approach, can help capturing
students’ thoughts, feelings, and experience.
Focus groups can be an example of a qualitative data that can
capture students’ thoughts, feelings, and experience.
Teachers’ effectiveness can be measured by students’
performance in examination.
School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin
(UCD).
Veterinary students.
Examination performance data and focus groups.
It has been shown that both qualitative focus group student
feedback and quantitative data analysis of examination
performance are effective ways to enhance instruction and
student performance.
Redesigning the delivery of teaching has increased students’
scores of the questions, decreased the rate of students’ failure
while filling out the questions and promotes the development
of the "lifelong learner" or trainee by encouraging students to
take more ownership of their own learning.
 development of the “lifelong learner” or trainee which is a key
aim of many medical education curricula. The effectiveness of
this teaching approach has been demonstrated through
systematic review and meta-analyses.

Strengths or weaknesses of
Findings as stated by researcher
Although a statistically significant improvement in question
performance was found after the introduction of the new
teaching method, it was not possible to run a
contemporaneous control group exposed to the previous
teaching methods. In addition, whilst the questions were
structured very similarly, with similar questions asked, it was
not possible to ask the exact same question for 3 years
running.
Even though the new redesigned method has enhanced
students’ performance it’s impossible to conduct a current
control group that was exposed to the past teaching strategies
and since the questions and their structures are similar it is
unreasonable to reuse the same questions for the following
years.

One assumption of classical test theory is that items within a Even after the improvements of questions and being on the
set are unidimensional, i.e., that they are all indicative of the inferior level of values of the usual questions, different skills
same underlying characteristic. However, it could be argued are required of each student to answer the questionnaire.
that the skills required to answer a question on the analysis of
routine herd-level fertility may be different to those required
to answer a question on individual farm animal medicine,
which constitutes many of the questions in the rest of the same
examination. Interestingly, although an improvement in the R-
squared value was noted in the year following the introduction
of the improved teaching method, this question was still on
the lower range of values for other questions in the
examination.
Your conclusion regarding the It has been shown that recent improvements on SETs have been beneficial even with its drawbacks. Quantitative methods
effectiveness of this finding such as focus groups has allowed students to think out loud with their classmates and decide on the most effective strategy of
learning. Following the examination performance has lowered students failing rate, ameliorated their performances, and
boosted their confidence to take responsibility for their learning and development.