Workshop G

Creating Behaviorally-Anchored Rating Scales for Formative Assessment

Lucas Pereira, MGCS, CGC, Ruben Guzman, MD, Nouf Alnoon, MBBS, Steven Omansky, MD, Rawia Mohammed, MLS(ASCP), Mai Nguyen, MBBS, Vincent Storie, MD and Jeffrey Markus, MD EdM

Graduate Medical Sciences, Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Zoom (Link TBD)

This workshop aims to familiarize faculty interested in improving their formative feedback practices through the use of behaviorally-anchored rating scales (BARS). In health professions education, formative assessment is vital to shaping professional growth, yet educators across disciplines struggle with assessing and fostering competencies. Learners often report that the feedback they receive is vague and not evidenced by specific behaviors, leading to missed opportunities for skill development. This workshop introduces BARS as a practical tool for educators seeking to better align formative assessment with their learners’ behaviors in context. Participants will learn how to create rating scales that assess the nuances of their disciplines while supporting the development of core professional competencies.

Target audience:

Faculty and staff seeking to improve their formative assessment tools as they relate to learner competencies.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the key components and advantages of behaviorally-anchored rating scales (BARS) in health professions educationsettings
  • Evaluate the efficacy of existing assessment tools in health professions education settings
  • Identify specific and observable learner behaviors relevant to formative assessment in their teaching contexts
  • Construct a BARS suitable for assessing a competency or skill of a health professions student
  • Utilize measures from BARS to deliver formative feedback to health professions students

Session Outline:

  • Overview (10 minutes): Introduction to workshop and overview of objectives
  • Introduction of BARS (15 minutes): Background on BARS utility in assessing skills
  • Setting an example (20 minutes): Compare efficacy of a simple Likert scale versus a BARS to assess a professional competencyas a group
  • Hands-on practice (30 minutes): Practice developing a BARS for assessing a participant-relevant competency in smaller groupswith facilitator assistance
  • Wrap-up (15 minutes): Conclusion of workshop with participant discussion and reflection