의료윤리수업 소그룹활동에 대한 동료평가의 경험*

Purpose: While peer-assessment (PA) is not new in higher education, it is not commonly used in medical schools in Korea. PA has been suggested as a method to enhance self-directed learning in various fields of education, but whether it actually improves performance is unclear. This study evaluated the impact of peer-assessment on small group discussions in medical ethics classes, and attempted to determine the suitability of PA for the evaluation of medical students.

Methods: A questionnaire was developed consisting of 6 questions concerning students’ opinions of PA results. The surveyed was administered in 2010 and 2011 to fifth-year medical students at one medical college in South Korea; the participating students had recently performed PA at the end of a course in medical ethics. Student scores within groups were compared with their satisfaction with the PA results, opinions about PA, and opinions about the burdens of doing PA. Students were also asked to indicate what percentage of their PA scores they would want to contribute to their overall grades in the course.

Results: A total of 91 students (82.4% male) participated in the survey. The average satisfaction score of the PA results is 6.32(±2.88) out of 10. A statistically significant correlation was found between students’ final PA scores and their levels of satisfaction with the PA (r=-0.471, p=0.000), their agreement with PA procedure (r=0.515, p=0.000), and the burden they experienced in doing PA (r=-0.312, p=0.000). On average, subjects thought that the PA should constitute about 24.5% of their final grade in the course.

Conclusion: PA is promising as an alternative method of evaluating students’ contributions within small group discussions in medical ethics curricula. Further work is required to understand how PA can be used more effectively to enhance the learning experience.