Using Assignments Best Practices

Assignments is a huge advantage. But to get the most from it, you need to think about what to assign and plan.

When using Med-Challenger Assignments, we recommend the following to maximize your benefit from this feature:

Before you make Assignments, determine your goals. 

If you want to "prepare residents for the boards", that's easy once you know your tools. For example...

Board Exam Simulations - they're adaptive. Routine use, say once a month, will give residents an exam review that ensures all materials are seen and mastered without unneeded repeats. It remembers what you've missed, intelligently using it again later. Prep takes less time, but also gives a more effective review.

That's just one application option for that purpose. Review our help guides for tips.

Batch assign materials for comparative metrics and scheduling ease.

When selecting assignees during assignment creation, you may select one or more individuals or all users of a particular type to be part of the given assignment.  In order to save time and benefit from "assignee group" metrics (like our Hot Spots feature), we recommend assigning all applicable users to any specific assignment all at once.

You can, of course, assign materials to each learner individually, but if you're looking for comparative metrics, assign materials to multiple learners in one assignment.  If you assign the same materials individually to each assignee, you are not getting the full benefit of Assignments - and you'll be adding a ton of unnecessary assignment listing to your activity calendars.

If you batch assign, performance data for all assignees will appear under a SINGLE assignment listing on your Assignment Manager.  Assignee scores will be listed together for easy comparison.  If you don't batch assign, performance data will be separated into distinct assignments.  Hence, don't assign materials separately to each assignee where possible.  Make one assignment and add all of your assignees.

Keep the size and scope of assignments manageable.

Using the # of Questions information on the Make Assignments screen will help you manage the size and scope of your assignments.  Assigning an entire course for this Friday will only get you a bunch of angry students. 

Our courses provide assignable assignment components for exam prep and adaptive assessment with auto-remediation, as well as, topic-based learning segments so it's easy to select bits and pieces of materials for assignment over time.

Allow enough time for compliance.

The start date can be the current date (default), a date in the future, or can even be set retrospectively.

When setting the due date, be sure to allow ample time from the start date for completion.  Staggering due dates can make workload more manageable for Learners and Administrators.

Know what counts as "completion."

In order for an assignment to count as complete, it must be initiated AND scored within the assignment period, i.e., between the effective date and the due date. 

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