E- mail address:	twiggers@shrp.umsmed.edu
Home Phone	(601) 829-0032 no calls after 10 pm please!
Cell Phone	(601) 750-9469
Office phone	(601) 984-6322 or 984-6309

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Research Interests

Most Recent Publications/Presentations

Flowers, H., Sullivan, D., Wiggers, T. and Whitehurst, A., Antibiotic Surveillance of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Mississippi, Clinical Laboratory Science, Vol. 19 No. 1, Winter 2006.

Malone, K., Wiggers, T., Monoclonal Anti CD 20 antibody used in Patient with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: A Case Study, Clinical Laboratory Science, Vol. 17 No. 4, Fall 2004.

Scott C, Stubbs P, Wiggers T, Greenwald N. The Use of the Mock Board Examination to Determine Readiness for Practice and Improvement of State Board Examination Scores. International Society of Educators in Physiotherapy Meeting, Valencia Spain. (poster presentation) June 2003.

Carter, J., Wiggers, T., A Case Study of Wegener’s Granulomatosis, MSCLS Member Submitted Paper, April, 2003.

Malone, K.., Wiggers, T., Monoclonal Anti CD 20 antibody Rituxan used in Patient with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: A Case Study, MSCLS Member Submitted Paper, April, 2003.

Didactic Clinical Testing Via University Website For Off-Campus Students, Libby Spence, Ph.D., CLS (NCA), Thomas Wiggers, MS, CLSpH(NCA), ASCLS National Meeting, 2002.

Use of computer adaptive testing and development of student self-study approaches to instructional requirements in a Clinical Laboratory Science curriculum.

Laboratory Mathematics Self-Instructional Computer-Adaptive Program

MSSMT Member Submitted Paper Award, 1996 "PC-Based Computer-Adaptive Testing for Student Self-Instruction and Evaluation in Laboratory Mathematics", presented at the April, 1996 Annual Meeting.

Abstract:

Students enrolling in this department have consistently been found to be deficient in their ability to perform basic laboratory calculations. As an alternative to lecture based remediation, students are now evaluated using written and computer administered testing. Students who are unsuccessful in completing a written pre-test are provided a self-instructional manual and accompanying computer software. The software is designed to adjust to the competency of the individual student by presenting questions of varied difficulty. Student competency is evaluated based upon the number of questions and degree of difficulty of each question answered correctly. The program provides brief tutorial reviews following incorrect responses. After completion of the self-instructional module a written post-test is given which is of equal difficulty to the pre-test. Post-test scores reflect significant improvement with >90% of the students who completed the tutorial packet successfully passing the second examination. By changing the questions in the database, the computer software is also used as the test engine for advanced placement examinations in Hematology (CLS 312) and Clinical Immunology (CLS 411).

Minimizing Instructor Bias in the Evaluation of Student Affective Domain

MSSMT Member Submitted Paper Award 1999

This paper received the Joseph J. Kleiner Memorial Award in August, 2000 at the ASCLS national Meeting in San Francisco, California.

Libby Spence, Ph.D., CLS (NCA), Paul Hicock, MS, SM (ASCP), Thomas Wiggers, MS, CLSpH(NCA). Minimizing Instructor Bias in the Evaluation of Student Affective Domain, April 1999.

Abstract:

The authors developed a simplified, computer-based, procedure for the evaluation of student affective domain (AD) behaviors that minimizes faculty bias and that provides a means for positive and negative reinforcement of student behavior. Individual faculty evaluated student behavior utilizing a standardized set of objectives. Evaluation results were converted to numeric data and entered into a computerized spreadsheet. The calculated AD score was used to adjust the student’s average in didactic CLS courses as a means of positive or negative reinforcement of behavior. Three separate classes (N= 54 students) of first year students enrolled in the CLS program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center were utilized for this study. A set of AD objectives were developed that promoted more consistent evaluation of student behaviors while providing flexibility to accommodate differences in course content and format. A computer-based spreadsheet program was employed to facilitate data entry as well as to calculate the student’s composite evaluation score. The procedure described enhanced faculty evaluation of student AD behaviors and provided an effective means to reward appropriate student behavior while discouraging inappropriate behavior. The use of a computer-based spreadsheet encouraged timely evaluation by individual faculty members while minimizing faculty bias.

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