Online practical assessment in biochemistry designed on Bloom's taxonomy to assess the student's competency: Prior exposure of the students to online tools beneficial

Abstract

Online assessments are needed during the prevailing pandemic situation to continue educational activities while ensuring safety. After conducting the online practical assessment (OPrA) in Biochemistry, we analyzed the students' responses. The blueprint of the OPrA was prepared by the faculty, referring to the various levels and domains of Bloom's taxonomy. Four components were chosen for the online assessment: digital spotters, enumerating the steps of objective structured practical examination, interpretation of quantitative estimation, and case discussion. Each faculty assessed about 12–13 students in separate breakout rooms over 15–20 min on all four components. Feedback on the conduct of the examination was collected from the students and faculty anonymously and analyzed. Out of the 200 students who attended the online assessment, only one scored less than 50%, majority of them scored between 71% and 90%. Under the individual exercises, the average score of students in “Spotters” was 9.8 out of 10; in “OSPE,” 8.7 out of 10; in “Quantitative experiments,” 15.2 out of 20 and in “Case discussion,” 22.4 out of 30. Around 20% had previous experience attending the OPrA. They differed in their opinion from the rest of the students on five aspects; time allotted for the assessment (p value = 0.02, χ² = 5.07), students using unfair means during the online viva (p value = 0.02, χ² = 5.57), their computing skills (p value = 0.001, χ² = 19.82), their performance (p value = 0.001, χ² = 8.84), and overall conduct of the examination (p value = 0.001, χ² = 15.55). OPrA tools may be designed referring to Bloom's taxonomy, and prior exposure to the online tools may benefit the students.