Abstract:

Introduction:
The University of Valencia, Spain, includes in their final year of Degree, the course of the Practicum, defined as "mandatory instrumental, fundamentally practical matter content, that allows clinician-Dentistry student integrate all his knowledge to make a proper prevention, diagnosis and integrated treatment in patients (of all ages) and conditions according to the defined competencies”. The methodology used in the Practicum is problem-based learning, giving students the opportunity to test the knowledge acquired in previous courses with real patients about treatments, testing theirs skills and manual dexterity.

Objectives:
To develop evaluation matrices to assess the course of the Practicum objectively since there was so far no evaluation system, being a relatively new subject.

Methods:
The methodology for developing these matrices has been similar to others Dentistry Universities. The first phase of the development of these evaluation matrices, became with a meeting during the month of May 2014 with all the Practicum teachers (15 in total), which were provided with semi-developed questions to discuss and modify them according to the objectives and competencies defined for the subject. Subsequently, the criteria set by the teaching staff in view of the suggestions that had been made of the evaluation matrices were pooled. Finally and in the month of July 2014, the full development of questions to determine heading levels was performed, and thus, to evaluate students.

Results:
The results of the study showed three different types of items, which have been developed. All of them had a number of questions that relate to the skills of the subject and the aspects to be evaluated. These questions have some answers with five possible options ordered on a scale; far enough, regular, little or nothing. Each of these headings should be completed by the teacher / tutor for each of the different patients each student during the academic year concerned. First, we assessed the student's overall performance in the Practicum. To do this, the student had from the beginning of the academic year of general rules of behavior in the dental clinic during the Practicum. Therefore, these questions directly assess compliance with these guidelines by the student. This general section consists of 7 questions. The second section evaluates the diagnostic capacity by the student on the Practicum patients. This diagnostic section is formed as in the previous case, by seven questions assessing each of the diagnostic procedures be performed for each patient depending on the problem presented. Finally, we assessed the ability to perform an adequate treatment by the student's Practicum with all patients. This treatment section consists of 11 questions that assess each of the therapeutic procedures that each patient should be made depending on the diagnosis submitted.

Conclusions:
The conclusion of our work was; Sufficient, clear, concrete, easy to understand and appropriate evaluation rubrics were designed and agreed by all teachers.

Keywords:

Assesment, Practicum.