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Longitudinal biometric analysis of student competency and expertise development

Poster Session F - Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Chantelle McCance^1,2 (), Filomeno Cortese^1,2,3, Ford Burles¹, Kent Hecker^1,2; ¹University of Calgary, ²Hotchkiss Brain Institute, ³Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute

Validity evidence from written tests is essential for supporting decisions about student competency in health professions education. Multiple-choice question (MCQ) tests are often used to assess clinical reasoning, assuming test-taking thought processes mirror those in real-world practice. Response process validity examines the cognitive processes individuals use when answering test questions, relying on indirect measures (e.g., self-report) to assess cognitive processes. Biometric data, specifically brain activity and eye-tracking data, could complement these measures and contribute valuable validity evidence. Event-related potential components (i.e., P300) derived from electroencephalography (EEG) can differentiate experts from novices in domain-specific declarative knowledge, yet the mechanisms underlying progression from novice to expert remain unexplored. This longitudinal study is the first to integrate brain activity and behavioural data to examine test-takers’ response processes. Our aims are to (1) determine the neural and behavioural correlates of response processes during MCQ test-taking, and (2) establish a dataset illustrating the neural progression from novice to expert. Participants are students in undergraduate and health professions programs. Once per program year, we collect EEG, eye-tracking, and facial expression data as they complete cognitive tasks (pre- and post-test) and a program-relevant MCQ test. The cognitive tasks assess default functional connectivity (resting state), cognitive fatigue (oddball), working memory (n-back), and spatial skills (mental rotation). Preliminary data show significant relationships between MCQ test duration and oddball P300 latency (pre-test; rₛ = 0.408, p = .006) and amplitude (post-test; rₛ = –0.313, p = .047), suggesting relatively stable within-participant processing speeds and greater cognitive fatigue among slower test-takers.

Topic Area: THINKING: Decision making