Evaluating the impact of a curriculum intervention using an assessment rubric for communication skill development of osteopathy students

Objective

This paper investigates the impact of a spiral curriculum intervention using a validated assessment rubric for communication skill development of undergraduate osteopathy students.

Method

Over a three-year period, students from three cohorts were exposed to zero, one or two semesters of a newly integrated and scaffolded communication curriculum. Using a checklist rubric to collect mean scores and then undertaking comparisons through Pearson chi square analysis, the impact of the curriculum intervention on communication skill development was explored.

Results

Cohorts who received zero or two full semesters of communication curriculum performed better (x = 6.34, x = 10.51 respectively) than the cohort who received one (x = 6.03).

Conclusion

Despite using an explicit assessment rubric, insufficiently contextualised and integrated curriculum appears to disrupt student learning, whilst a spiralled, scaffolded curriculum delivered at an appropriate level in combination with explicit assessment rubrics work well together to support deeper learning and development.

Implications for practice

∙An insufficiently contextualised and integrated curriculum combined with the frequency of content being re-visited (spiral curriculum) can disrupt the students learning experience.

∙Using a spiralled and scaffolded curriculum significantly improves the development of communication skills.

∙For deeper learning to occur students require a combination of both explicit curriculum and accompanying assessment rubrics.