Peer group reflection on student ratings stimulates clinical teachers to generate plans to improve their teaching

Figures & data

Table

Practice points

Self-evaluation, student ratings and peer group reflection facilitate reflection on student feedback by clinical teachers. Peer group reflection, characterized by dialog with peers about student ratings and self-evaluation, encourages clinical teachers to generate alternative methods and plans for improvement.

Figure 1. Flow chart of feed-forward facilitating strategies A and B.

Figure 2. Extract from a clinical teacher’s written feedback report (example).

Table 1. Perceived effectiveness of self-evaluation, student ratings and peer group reflection.

Statements: the activity…	Self-evaluation (N = 20) Mean (SD)	Student ratings (N = 20) Mean (SD)	Peer group reflection (N = 10) Mean (SD)
…was instructive for me	3.8 (0.9)	3.9 (0.7)	4.2 (0.9)
…offered me the possibility to compare my ideas about teaching with those of my peers			3.9 (0.7)
…encouraged me to reflect on my clinical teaching	3.7 (0.9)	3.9 (1.0)	4.2 (0.6)
…encouraged me to create alternative methods	3.1 (1.0)	3.5 (1.0)	3.8 (0.6)
…encouraged me to alter my clinical teaching	2.9 (0.9)	3.4 (1.1)	4.0 (0.7)
…represented an effective step in reflecting on student feedback	3.9 (1.0)	4.0 (1.0)	4.0 (0.8)
Overall effectiveness (1–10)	7.0 (1.5)	7.5 (1.4)	7.4 (1.5)

Mean ratings and SDs on a Likert scale (1 = fully disagree to 5 = fully agree); Overall effectiveness rated on a 10-point scale (7 = sufficient).

Table 2. Some examples of positive and negative experiences.

Self-evaluation
Positive	I appreciated the opportunity to reflect on my clinical teaching in a structured manner
Negative	It takes time; it does not teach you anything new; there are better alternatives
Student ratings
Positive	The positive feedback is stimulating and feels like an appreciation of all your efforts. When still in the workplace, not all students are willing to give you feedback, so the feedback report gives you insight into their opinion about your practice and coaching
Negative	It is only based on a small number of student evaluations; it is quite subjective
Peer group reflection
Positive	Encourages reflection. By interacting with colleagues, it became clear that the root of our problems was largely similar
Negative	Moderator was not very well prepared; rules were too strict, which made it confusing and chaotic for me

Table 3. Levels of reflection and alternative methods of action of participants, based on the answers given in the completed reflection reports.

	All participants (N = 20)		Strategy A (N = 10) Number of participation in peer group reflection		Strategy B (N = 10) Participation in peer group reflection
	N	(%)	N	(%)	N	(%)
Levels of reflection
1. Descriptive writing	4	20	1	10	3	30
2. Descriptive reflection	4	20	3	30	1	10
3. Dialogic reflection	8	40	4	40	4	40
4. Critical reflection	4	20	2	20	2	20
Levels of alternative methods of action
1. No alternative methods	3	15	3	30	0	0
2. Aspects in need of improvement	0	0	0	0	0	0
3. Alternative methods	4	20	4	40	0	0
4. Alternative methods and plan	13	65	3	30	10	100