The Interactive Examination. A summative report of seven years of development and evaluation of an innovative assessment model in higher education.

Abstract

The ability to self-assess one's competence is a crucial skill for all health professionals. The interactive examination is an assessment model aiming to evaluate not only students' clinical skills and competence, but also their ability to self-assess their proficiency. The methodology utilised students' own self-assessment, an answer to a written essay question and a group discussion. In five studies the role of Interactive Examination for learning and development of metacognitive skills in dental students was evaluated. Teachers and students' acceptance of the methodology was very positive. The Interactive Examination appeared to be a promising tool for providing a deeper insight in student s ability to self-assess and steer their learning. Exploration of the entire potential of the interactive examination would require full implementation of the method in a given curriculum.