The Formative & The Summatives
From a Student’s POV
Steve Tran (Year 3)
ICSMSU Academic Officer (Years 1, 2 & GE)
icsm.ao12GE@imperial.ac.uk
Content – Updated 16/12/11
1.
2.
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4.
Why have this?
Exam Dates
Results + Resits
Type of Questions + Examples
1.
2.
3.
5.
6.
7.
8.
SBA – Single Best Answers
EMQ – Extended Matching Questions
SAQ – Short Answer Questions
Year 1 Formative
Graduate Entry Formative
The Exams
Tips
Why have this?
• Students (Year 1 & GE1) have approached me
concerned about the format of your exams
• All the information here is taken from the
Intranet (http://education.med.ic.ac.uk) on the
16th December so may not be the most recent.
• All the other information is from my own
experience and point of view so don’t sue me.
Year 1 2012
• Mon 9 Jan, 2-4pm: Formative
•
Results: Fri 3 Feb
• Tues 20 Mar: PBL in-course assessment deadline
• Mon 30 Apr, 10am - 12.15pm: MCD Summative
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Mon 11 Jun, 10am - 11.40am: LSS 1 Summative
Tues 12 Jun, 10am - 11.30am: LSS 2 Summative
Thurs 14 Jun, 10am - 11.15am: LCRS Summative
Fri 15 Jun, 2pm - 3.45pm: FCP Summative
•
Results: TBA (July)
Year Graduate Entry 1 2012
• Mon 31 Jan, 2pm - 5pm: Formative
• Tues 17 Apr, 2pm – 4.30pm: CMS Summative
• Fri 27 Apr, 9.15 – 10.15am: Epidemiology + S&H
• Thurs 21 Jun, 10am - 11.40am: Anatomy
Summative
• Wed 27 Jun, 10am – 12pm: RS Summative
• Fri 29 Jun, 2.30pm – 4.30pm: SS Summative
•
Results: TBA (July)
Results
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On the results day, you will be emailed by the FEO.
They ask you to log into the Imperial e-service:
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/studenteservice
Look for them under the ‘Academic Record’ tab.
•
Prior to the release of results, the FEO release the passmarks on the intranet under the exam links.
•
The Top 3 of each year AND the top of each exam paper
will get a prize:
https://education.med.imperial.ac.uk/Prizes/index.htm
Resits
DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THESE UNTIL AFTER YOUR RESULTS, OR IF
YOU DEFINITELY THINK THE PAPERS WENT DISASTROUSLY BAD.
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•
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If you do end up not getting the pass marks, you will be
automatically entered into the Summer Resits.
The dates will be released closer to the time of the summative
exams, but they normally take place over the 2nd week of
August.
The percentage of those who resit is relatively normal compared
to other medical schools.
Type of Questions
• SBA – Single Best Answer
• EMQ – Extended Matching Questions
• SAQ – Short Answer Questions
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•
EMQs and SBAs are the type of questions you will
come across your years at medical school.
However multiple choice doesn’t distinguish
whether people actually understand concepts
presented in Y1&2, so that is why we also do SAQs they are the questions you ‘have to think about’.
SBA – Single Best Answer
• Multiple choice questions that ask you for the
‘BEST’ answer out of 5.
•
If they’re mean, they can put two answers that are very
similar to each other.
• Best Method: Process of Elimination
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Go through each option and figure out if you think it’s
true or false or a ?.
You’ll most likely end up with having to choose
between 2.
• INTELLEGENTLY GUESS IF YOU DON’T KNOW!
SBA example
Where in the cell does the TCA cycle occur?*
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Cytoplasm
The Mitochondrial Matrix
In the Inter-mitochondrial-membrane space
On Rough ER
In the Nucleus
* Taken from the Metabolism Self Test on learn.imperial.ac.uk
EMQ – Extended Matching Questions
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Similar to Mix-And-Match Questions.
Normally involves definitions.
5 Questions per list of 10 options.
Options can be used:
ONCE, MORE THAN ONE, OR NOT AT ALL.
• A lot of options you can eliminate just because
1. they are from a different topic or
2. you know that it definitely isn’t the answer.
EMQ Example
T Cell
B Cell
Natural Killer Cell
Neutrophil
Macrophage
Langerhans Cell
Follicular Cell
Basophil
Eosinophil
Pancreatic Beta Cell
Questions
1. Associated with CD4+
or CD8+
2. Contains MultiSegmented Nucleus
3. Widely Spread
throughout the skin
4. Secretes Insulin
* Taken from the Immunology Self Test on
learn.imperial.ac.uk
SAQ – Short Answer Questions
• These rely on you understand the topic than just
remembering facts for SBA and EMQs
• More writing!
• Can be compared to A level Biology
• You get an initial 1 or 2 marker question then
more expanded questions which require ‘longer’
answers i.e. a paragraph of writing
• Can be used test across topics – Obvious links!
e.g. Immunology and Microbiology
SAQ - Example
1. Name the process that makes glucose from
other substrates (1 mark)
2. List 3 different substrates that could be used (3
marks)
3. Explain how Adrenaline and Insulin influence
the blood sugar levels (6 marks)
4. What other major hormone is involved in the
homeostasis of blood sugar levels? (1 mark)
Answers are not the best, because I made this from the top of head.
Year 1 Formative
Monday 9 January 2012, 2pm – 4pm
For MCD: (Advised 80 minutes)
• 32 SBA – Advised 40 minutes
• 2 EMQ – Advised 10 minutes
• 2 SAQ – Advised 30 minutes
For FCP: 40 minutes of SAQ & SBAs.
Topics:
MCD – Everything including practicals & tutorials
FCP – Clinical Communications, Society & Health,
parts of First Clinical Attachment.
GE1 Formative
Tuesday 31 January 2012, 2pm – 5pm
Exam arrangements will be sent to you by 17th Jan.
Society & Health: 6 items
Regulatory Systems: 21 items
Support Systems: 31 items
Cellular and Molecular Sciences: 38 items
Anatomy: 44 items
• Hopefully a SAQ consists of 10 items, EMQ (5 questions
with one list of options) = 5 items and a SBA = 1 item
• Only Support System will have a SAQ.
The Exams
• SBA & EMQs are marked by machine by something
similar to the math’s challenge or the BMAT.
• Put your NAME & Candidate Number down.
• Make sure you’re using the right side for SBA and
EMQs (EMQ are the longer ones)
Tips 1
• Other than a good night sleep etc…
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Make sure you have spare pens and HB pencils!
Bring some water or some snack that isn’t noisy to eat!
Wear comfortable clothes
Comfort Breaks BEFORE the exam – No need to waste
time during the exam unless you’re bursting.
• Stay calm, you know what you’re doing.
Tips 2
• Make sure you know how much time you want
to spend on SAQ, EMQ or SBA.
• Choose which ever you want to do first but I
would advise GLANCE over what topics the
SAQs are on, so that whilst doing the EMQ/SBAs
your brain is subconsciously working out stuff
for the SAQs, plus you can also figure out if you
need to allocate more time for them.
• Guess if you don’t know it!
Tips 3
• READ THE QUESTION, then read it again.
•
I’ve made this mistake so many times.
• For SBA/EMQ – Mark on the question sheet your
answer, then transfer the answers to the answer sheet.
• If you skip a question, give yourself a note to remind
you of it later and make sure to skip it on the answer
sheet too!
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I put a massive highlighted circle around the SBAs I skipped.
I know someone who lost 50% of their SBA answers because they
realised 5 minutes before the end they only had 39 answers to 40
questions. In addition, they didn’t mark on the question paper what
they put the answer as.
Need more information?
• If you have any more questions, please feel free
to email me on:
icsm.ao12GE@imperial.ac.uk
• Anything with regards to mitigating
circumstances, please contact Neeraj, our
welfare officer at
icsm.welfare@imperial.ac.uk