Small Group Instructional Diagnosis
MedEdPearls September 2019: Consider how you can use a Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) for mid-semester evaluations in your medical and health professions courses to gather valuable student feedback and enhance your teaching.
Even though it seems classes just started, it is time to prepare for mid-semester evaluations. Unlike evaluations at the end of the semester, mid-semester evaluations are great tools to provide feedback to the instructor in time for adjustments to be made. This semester, consider a SGID—Small Group Instructional Diagnosis. A SGID is a short, 20-minute formative assessment activity that involves having a trained facilitator meet with student focus groups to discuss what’s working, what needs improvement, possible changes to the course, and how students see they are meeting course learning objectives.
The SGID model has been around for a while, and it continues to be an effective faculty development tool. Using student reflection, small focus group discussions, and feedback to the instructor, a SGID can enhance teaching effectiveness and lead to improved student learning.
Steps in the SGID process include:
- Instructor and facilitator meet to establish a date/time, identify a focus for the activity, and generate questions to be explored
- On established date, facilitator comes to class (instructor steps out) and gets students into small groups
- Small groups are given predetermined questions to discuss
- Class reconvenes as a whole to share responses with facilitator who records them
- Instructor and facilitator meet after class to discuss responses and ways the feedback contributes to improvement planning strategies
Have you used a SGID in your courses? If so, share your experiences on Twitter at #MedEdPearls!
Want to know more? Check out these resources:
- Cohen, P.A. (1980). Effectiveness of Student-Rating Feedback for Improving College Instruction: A Meta-Analysis of Findings. Research in Higher Education, 13(4), 321-341.
- Bowden, D. (2004). Small Group Instructional Diagnosis: A Method for Enhancing Writing Instruction. WPA Writing Program Administration, 28(1-2), 115-135.
About the MedEdPearls Author
Jean Bailey
PhD
- Associate Professor; Associate Dean, Faculty Development, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
- Jean Bailey, PhD – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
- Carrie Bowler, EdD, MS, MLSCM (ASCP) – Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development
- Kristina Dzara, PhD, MMSc (Educators ’16; Assessment ’16; HCE 2.0 ’17) – Saint Louis University School of Medicine
- Shanu Gupta, MD, SFHM – University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and Tampa General Hospital
- Jennifer Hillyer, PhD – Northeast Ohio Medical University
- Larry Hurtubise, PhD, MA (HCE 2.0 '16) – The Ohio State University
- Anna Lama, EdD, MA – West Virginia University School of Medicine
- Machelle Linsenmeyer, EdD, NAOME (Assessment ’07) – West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
- Skye McKennon, PharmD, BCPS, ACSM-GEI – Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
- Rachel Moquin, EdD, MA – Washington University School of Medicine
- Stacey Pylman, PhD – Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
- Leah Sheridan, PhD – Northeast Ohio Medical University
- Lonika Sood, MBBS, MHPE – Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
- Mark Terrell, EdD – Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Stacey Wahl, PhD – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
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