Developing an Integral Assessment Methodology for a Competency-Based Undergraduate Biomechanics Course

The present paper shows the results observed in student performance and their competency development, after a few changes and improvements were made to the assessment methods and allotted time in an introductory, college-level course in Biomechanics design and applications. This course was designed under the umbrella of a New Educational Model, and it is immersed in the 5th semester of a competency-based curriculum. It uses the constructivist method and considers Challenge Based and Experiential Learning as the main learning technique. Given how the challenge project was structured, and how the outcomes and content complexity in the Biomechanics class were devised, one of the issues detected in previous iterations of this course was how challenging it had become to properly assess each student individually, given how a significant percentage of the workload and evaluation was team-based, which resulted in a bias in the students' performance and assessment. Therefore, efforts were made to design and implement an integral assessment method, which revolves around improving individual performance through the achievement of teamwork synergy, in a redesigned course that lasts 15 weeks (about 3 and a half months), instead of the original allotted time of 5 weeks (1 month). Several assessment activities were implemented within the different challenge project stages, with the intention of developing individual learning and knowledge that would result in an improved group discussion, that would allow students to better integrate their ideas to reach a feasible solution. Data show that outcome assessment was normalized with respect to final grades. As a result, students showed increased participation and interest in the course. This allowed them to consolidate their knowledge and handle discussions and ideas at the same complexity level among teammates, enabling them to work better together as a team exceeding their expectations regarding teamwork, and to individually identify their areas of opportunity. This meant that students were able to develop and solve the challenge project in real contexts, with enough time to generate congruent, wellgrounded conclusions and meet the assessment criteria. Further work is needed to determine the impact of different teaching styles for the same course and topics covered.