🆕Manage Assignments Page

Feature Overview

The Manage Assignments page within the Faculty Portal allows instructors to create, manage, and analyze tailored assignments for medical students. Eventually replacing the legacy test creation tools from the Qmax Management application, this new feature offers a streamlined, intuitive workflow with enhanced capabilities for creating, sharing, and analyzing student performance on assignments. The redesigned interface provides a better user experience with real-time feedback and comprehensive analytics to help instructors understand student progress and identify knowledge gaps. This feature empowers faculty to build customized assignments by selecting questions from ScholarRx's extensive Qmax1, Qmax2, or organization-specific question banks to help students prepare for the USMLE Step 1 or Step 2 exams.

This functionality leverages TAI^TM, ScholarRx's cutting-edge AI assistant, to help instructors locate the most relevant questions based on specific topics, clinical scenarios, or learning objectives. This technology enables faculty to quickly create high-quality assessments without the need to manually search through thousands of questions, significantly reducing preparation time while ensuring comprehensive coverage of essential medical concepts.

Key Capabilities

• AI-Powered Question Search: Quickly find relevant questions using natural language queries, with TAI^TM analyzing your input to identify the most appropriate assessment materials.

• High-Yield Topic Selection: Browse and select questions organized by high-yield medical topics, ensuring focused coverage of critical concepts for board exam preparation.

• Document-Based Question Generation: Upload educational materials (PDFs, Word documents, etc.) to have TAI^TM suggest relevant questions that align with your specific teaching materials.

• Question Customization: Preview and select individual questions from search results, with full access to question stems, answer choices, and explanations before adding them to your assignment.

• Flexible Assignment Types: Create timed tests, untimed assessments, or tutor-mode assignments that provide immediate feedback to students.

• Drag-and-Drop Question Ordering: Easily arrange questions in your preferred sequence using intuitive drag-and-drop functionality.

• Comprehensive Student Assignment: Target individual students or entire student groups for assignment distribution.

• Collaboration Features: Share assignments with other instructors, enabling faculty collaboration and standardized assessment across courses.

• Performance Analytics: Access detailed analytics on student performance, both individually and across questions, with visualizations of correct/incorrect response rates.

• Assignment Management: Save drafts, publish, unpublish, close, or delete assignments as needed throughout your course.

How It Works

Managing Assignments

• Accessing Assignments: Navigate to the 'Manage Assignments' page in the Faculty Portal to view your existing assignments, categorized as Published, Drafts, or Closed.

• Assignment Overview: Each assignment displays key information including name, last updated date, assignment dates, test type, question count, and student progress. Use the filter and sort options to easily locate specific assignments.

• Assignment Actions: Access context-specific actions for each assignment through the menu button, including options to unpublish, close, copy, delete, or share the assignment depending on its current status.

Creating a New Assignment

Initiate Creation

Click the "Create Assignment" button to begin the assignment creation process, which guides you through a three-step workflow.

Step 1: Select Questions

• Using AI Search: Enter a term, topic, or describe your ideal assessment in the search field. You can also upload documents (PDFs, Word files, PowerPoint) to find related questions. TAI^TM will analyze your input and suggest relevant questions.

• Using High-Yield Topics: Alternatively, browse the hierarchical topic tree and select specific high-yield topics to view related questions.

• Question Selection: Review suggested questions, expand them to see full details including distractors and explanations, and select the ones you want to include in your assignment.

Step 2: Order Questions

Review your selected questions and use drag-and-drop functionality to arrange them in your preferred sequence. Questions are numbered according to their order and will appear to students in this sequence.

Step 3: Configure Assignment Settings

• Basic Information: Enter the assignment name and an optional description.

• Assignment Type: Choose between Tutor mode (immediate feedback), Timed (fixed duration), or Untimed.

• Time Settings: For timed assignments, set the average time per question (60-180 seconds).

• Student Assignment: Select individual students or groups who should receive this assignment.

• Instructor Sharing: Optionally share the assignment with other instructors for collaboration.

• Assignment Dates: Set start and due dates/times, with optional retake settings.

• Saving/Publishing: Save as a draft to continue editing later or publish the assignment to make it available to students according to your specified start date.

Analyzing Assignment Results

• Access Analytics: Click on a published or closed assignment to view detailed performance data.

• Performance by Student:

  • View a table of all assigned students showing their status, start/submission dates, and performance scores.

  • For students with multiple attempts, expand their row to see detailed performance across all attempts.

  • Quickly find specific students by filtering.

• Performance by Question:

  • Review question-specific analytics showing how many students answered correctly/incorrectly.

  • See the percentage of students who selected each distractor.

  • Sort questions by difficulty level or question order.

  • Expand questions to view full content including explanations and high-yield summaries.

• Export Results: Download comprehensive performance data for further analysis or record-keeping.

Configuration Options

Assignment Types

• Tutor Mode: Students see explanations and correct answers immediately after answering each question, ideal for learning.

• Timed Mode: Students must complete all questions within a set time limit, with explanations shown after completion.

• Untimed Mode: Students can take as long as needed to complete the assignment, with explanations shown after completion.

Time Settings

• Time per Question: For timed tests, set between 60-180 seconds per question (1-3 minutes).

• Total Time: Automatically calculated based on question count and time per question.

Student Assignment Options

• Individual Assignment: Select specific students by name/email.

• Group Assignment: Assign to predefined student groups for efficient distribution.

Date Configuration

• Start Date/Time: When the assignment becomes available to students.

• Due Date/Time: Optional deadline for assignment completion.

• Retake Settings: Allow unlimited retakes or restrict to a single attempt.

Sharing Options

• Individual Sharing: Share with specific instructors by name/email.

• Group Sharing: Share with instructor groups for departmental collaboration.

Usage Examples

Example 1: Creating a Focused Topic Review

• Start a new assignment using the AI search with a query like "cardiovascular physiology and pathology"

• Select a balanced mix of conceptual and clinical questions from the results

• Arrange questions in order of increasing difficulty

• Configure as a Tutor mode assignment with unlimited retakes

• Assign to students preparing for their cardiovascular system exam

Example 2: Creating a Timed Practice Assessment

• Navigate to High-Yield Topics and select multiple relevant areas (currently only relevant for USMLE Step 1)

• Choose a representative sample of questions across selected topics

• Arrange questions by system or discipline for logical progression

• Configure as a Timed assessment with 90 seconds per question

• Set specific start and due dates aligned with exam preparation timeline

• Share with other instructors who teach the same cohort

Example 3: Analyzing Student Performance

• After students complete an assignment, navigate to the assignment analytics

• Identify students who scored below 70% and offer additional support

• Note questions that were frequently missed to address misconceptions in class

• Share results with teaching assistants to focus review sessions

• Download performance data for department reporting

Integration Points

• Student Portal: Assignments created in the Faculty Portal appear in students' assignment lists based on configured start dates.

• Email Notifications: Students receive automated email notifications about new assignments and upcoming due dates as well as a system notification in the USMLE-Rx application on their dashboard.

• Learning Management System: Assignment links can be copied and shared in your LMS.

• Performance Records: Analytics integrate with the broader student performance tracking system within ScholarRx.

• Question Banks: The Assignment Builder connects directly to ScholarRx's comprehensive Qmax1, Qmax2, and organization-specific question banks.

• Collaborative Tools: The sharing feature integrates with your institution's faculty directory for seamless collaboration.

The new 'Manage Asignments' page represents a significant advancement in assessment creation and management, providing faculty with sophisticated tools while maintaining an intuitive, user-friendly interface. By combining AI-powered question selection with detailed analytics, this feature helps instructors create more effective assessments while gaining valuable insights into student performance.