August 11, 2020 Issue No. 12 Training Program Information Update A Training Program Information Update request form will be sent to all programs in mid- to late-September. Please complete this request form to help us obtain the most up-to-date contact information for student verifications and program result reporting. This request form will also provide the CSMLS with data to help us forecast certification seat requirements for your programs. In addition, we request educator contact information so that we can share resources and information, including the Faculty Focus, with the educator community. An Educator's Perspective on Virtual Teaching: Michener Institute faculty member and 30-year MLT Jennifer O’Leary hosts our next virtual event on August 26th at 12 p.m. ET. Join the event to learn simple strategies for virtual learning, including tips on how to recognize learning principles, keep your students engaged and more. The event is free for CSMLS members. Learn more and register here. Validation of the In-Person Testing vs. Remote Proctor TestingThis June, COVID-19 restrictions led to in-person testing (IPT) centre closures and seating restrictions across the country. To help continue the flow of students to the workforce during this difficult time, the CSMLS moved quickly to bring the MLT-General and MLA exams online via remote proctor testing (RPT). We piloted the use of RPT for the June exam session. CSMLS sent the results of the June exam sessions for additional third-party psychometric review for two main reasons. First, to ensure that both types of exam administration and proctoring (Administration Type), i.e. IPT vs RPT, had valid results. Second, to determine whether the results differed between candidates taking the examination under each of the Administration Types, as such a difference could indicate that there is a selective advantage for candidates taking the exam in one of the two modalities. While RPT candidates experienced a few technical difficulties on exam day, the psychometric analyses raised no concerns. The analyses provided support that the Administration Type for both exams neither advantages or disadvantages candidates taking exams under their associated conditions. The MLT-General exam was unequivocal in this regard, with very similar pass rates, means, and medians across the two groups. The MLA exam showed the support of this conclusion by the similar pass rates and the finding that the difference between means from both proctoring modalities do not reach the threshold of statistical significance (MLA had a smaller number of candidates writing via RPT). Based on these findings, CSMLS plans to continue to offer RPT to exam candidates. The Board of Directors supports the continuance of RPT testing, and the CSMLS has notified the regulatory body community of the decision. For more information on remote proctor testing, please visit our webpage. Scratch Pads for Remote Proctor Testing Prometric has developed a virtual “scratch pad" for remote proctor testing (RPT) candidates. This feature is expected to be available for the August exam administration. The scratch pad feature allows an unlimited number of characters with scroll capabilities. It includes rich text format, select font sizes, and the ability to create both bullet and numbered lists. Candidates will initiate the scratch pad in the same manner as the chat window. The scratch pad opens as a floating window for candidates to capture digital notes during their exam. Candidates have the ability to resize this window on their screen and open and close it as often as needed. Data is retained in the event of a service disruption and will not be purged until the conclusion of the exam event. Program Completion and Certification Exam Eligibility Students from EQualTM accredited programs are eligible to challenge our certification exams once they have successfully completed that program. Successful program completion includes the completion of the clinical placement or approved alternative, depending on the program’s requirements. Please help ensure your students are aware of these requirements as we cannot make any exceptions. If you would like to provide your students with more information on exam eligibility, please direct them to our Exam Eligibility webpage. Educator Communities Forum A forum called “COVID-19 and Training Programs” has been added under Communities, which is a platform for medical laboratory professionals to post questions, share ideas and chat. You can find this forum at communities.csmls.org. This is a great place for educators from around the country to talk to one another and share their experiences and challenges while dealing with COVID-19. If you are new to Communities, please take a minute to read the topics in Getting Started. You must be signed in to participate in the discussions. COVID-19 Resources & Supports from Simulation Canada Simulation Canada has services and resource collections to help you support students and adapt to distance learning. These resources are free and open to anyone. They include:
Explore the resources here. |