The Importance of Written Feedback on the Individual and Team Performance of Student Pharmacists

Objective. To analyze the impact of written feedback provided using an online peer and self-evaluation tool on the individual and team performance of student pharmacists. Methods. Student pharmacists enrolled in two sections (section A=29 students; section B=32 students) of a required first-year pharmacy course were assigned to teams of six and given a project-based assignment in which they worked together to solve an authentic health care-related problem. Students used the Comprehensive Assessment of Team-Member Effectiveness (CATME) online peer and self-evaluation system to evaluate their peers at several points during the project. Students in section A were given both the survey ratings and written feedback from their peers, while students in section B were only given the survey ratings. Data from CATME as well as from student focus groups were used to assess students’ perceptions of the usefulness of peer assessments and the impact of written feedback. Results. For 14 of the 15 items on the survey, mean scores of students in section A were higher than those for students in section B, indicating that students in section A had generally higher agreement with and affirmation of positive statements related to peers giving and receiving feedback from one another. Quantitative and qualitative data indicated that students had an overall positive perception about the usefulness of the CATME tool for evaluating individual and team performance. More specifically, both the quantitative analysis and focus group feedback revealed notable differences in perceptions about peer feedback between students in the group that only received survey ratings and students in the group that received both survey ratings and written feedback. Conclusion. The survey results and focus group themes indicated that student pharmacists had positive perceptions about the CATME tool but that the ratings had a more meaningful impact when the written comments of their peers were also shared with them.