The educational impact of assessment: A comparison of DOPS and MCQs

Figures & data

Table 1.   Summary of the differences in motivations and learning strategies of the deep, surface and achieving approach to learning (Biggs & Australian Council for Educational Research 1987a)

Approach	Motivation	Strategy
Deep	Interest in the subject resulting in intrinsic motivation to learn.	Develop understanding of the subject, linking ideas and concepts.
Surface	Fear of failure, motivated to complete the minimum amount of work to pass.	Reproduction for high stakes assessment, involves rote learning.
Achieving	To achieve the highest grades possible, motivated by competition with their peers.	Organisation of work for academic success. May involve elements of both deep and surface strategies.

Table

Practice points

DOPS encourages a deep approach to learning in a clinical context. MCQs encourage a surface approach to learning in final examinations. Time pressure increases student stress levels and encourages a surface approach to learning particularly close to assessment points and as opportunities for DOPS became scarcer. Students used achieving strategies when they perceived them as essential for success in both MCQ's and DOPS. Assessment of and for learning should be used to encourage students to develop a deep approach to learning which is more closely aligned with the requirements of clinical practice.

Table 2.   Mean study approach scores for DOPS compared to MCQ. Standard deviation is provided in parentheses

	DOPS	MCQ	Wilcoxon signed ranks test (z)	p Value
Surface approach	14.5 (2.8)	16.2 (3.1)	−5.048	0.000
Deep approach	19.4 (4.1)	18.0 (3.7)	−3.299	0.001
Achieving approach	15.1 (4.3)	15.3 (4.1)	−0.830	0.406

Figure 1. A model of influences on approaches to learning.

Biggs JB, Australian Council For Educational Research. Student approaches to learning and studying. Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne 1987a

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