The objective of this workshop is to have students create scientific sheet to introduce them to group work and project management while working on their scientific reading and writing skills. In addition, this work allows for the enrichment of the European database on rare diseases, Orphanet, for the benefit of health professionals and patients.
At the beginning of the year, students are given a list of the 5 possible positions and their specifications within the groups (coordinator, editor, communication manager, secretary, constructive eye) and then sign up for the positions of their choice. The groups are then created to have a representation of each position. Each group is assigned a rare disease for which it must write a scientific sheet. Each group is tutored to ensure the quality of the work and to answer questions if needed.
By the middle of the year, the groups must have written a detailed sheet of their disease and completed 2 questionnaires.
The first is a self-assessment questionnaire; each person evaluates the quality of her writing and role-playing. She describes the positive points and difficulties encountered and determines the steps to take to improve in the 2nd semester.
The second is a peer evaluation. Each person evaluates the other members of the group on the quality of the writing, the behavior in the group according to the specifications (e.g., does the person fulfill his or her role correctly?). Each member determines what is positive, how this point brings something to the project and suggests concrete ways to improve.
The tutoring team organizes a debriefing session at the end of the semester to constructively discuss these assessments with each group. This allows for a collective awareness of strengths and areas for improvement. It is also an opportunity to discuss how the evaluations were written (e.g., if the comments were not thorough enough, not constructive enough, or possibly hurtful) and, if necessary, to provide suggestions for improvement in writing the end-of-year evaluation.
In the 2nd half of the year, the groups summarize their detailed disease profile in a synthetic form to be submitted to Orphanet. At the end of the year, the group members fill in these two questionnaires again. They then include additional questions on what each person has done to improve since the first semester thanks to the self-assessment and the peer assessment. A debriefing session is also organized in the presence of the tutoring team.
The final evaluation is based on the following criteria:
- The quality of the work of writing the scientific sheets: the detailed sheet and the synthetic sheet, evaluated with the help of a precise grid known by the students (2/3 of the mark).
- The quality of the student's self-evaluation and peer evaluation (constructive and relevant comments, suggestions for improvement, etc.) as well as the student's progress in the 2nd semester established through his/her self-evaluation and peer evaluation (1/3 of the grade).
