Enhancing teamwork in higher education: Experiences of podiatry students using SPARK for self- and peer-assessment in group work.

Background: Teamwork is essential for delivering high-quality healthcare, particularly given the increasing complexity of care due to chronic diseases, comorbidities and limited resources. The necessary skills and attributes for effective teamwork are often taught and assessed through group work within healthcare education programs. While group work can assist the development of skills and attributes of students to be effective team members, it also presents challenges, such as ensuring equitable student contributions. The Self and Peer Assessment Resource Kit (SPARK) endeavours to increase transparency, address inequities and provide learning-oriented feedback in group work. However, there is limited evidence on its utility within university health education. This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the experiences of podiatry students who used SPARK for self-evaluation and peer review during group work.

Methods: Undergraduate podiatry students (n = 102) enrolled in a fourth-year (final year) project-based subject provided self- and peer-assessment ratings for two group assessment tasks using SPARK. Eleven students (10.8%) participated in semi-structured focus groups, which were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted by two independent reviewers.

Results: Four overarching themes and 11 subthemes were identified: (i) Performance (1a. Equity; 1b. Accountability), (ii) Peer inter-relationships (2a. Social dynamics; 2b. Fear of consequences), (iii) Feedback and reflection (3a. Self-reflection; 3b. Receiving and responding to feedback; 3c. Supervisor action; 3d. Avoiding confrontation) and (iv) Utility (4a. Enablers; 4b. Barriers; 4c. Integration throughout course).

Conclusions: Overall, SPARK encouraged equity, accountability and self-reflection among group members. There was perceived risk of negative group dynamics and relationships when poor feedback was given. It was equivocal if team member contributions increased. Self- and peer-assessment with SPARK is a useful approach towards addressing inequities in group work within health education and may offer insight into the development and assessment of teamwork capabilities.