BACKGROUNDColleges and schools of pharmacy have undergone major curricular changes to better prepare first-professional degree doctor of pharmacy students for practice and to enhance problem-solving skills. The use of techniques that foster active learning and critical thinking are necessary to accomplish this task. Despite increased efforts to enhance active learning, many pharmacy educators have difficulty engaging and maintaining the interest of all students in large classrooms. 1 Engaging students throughout a lecture is believed to make them more active participants rather then passive listeners. 2 Lecturing alone often provides only factual information to students, without enabling them to apply the knowledge. Relying on hand-raising or volunteered responses to questions posed by instructors in class usually only secures responses from a small number of more outspoken students. Other techniques have been used to determine student understanding of concepts and areas of confusion during class (eg, short quizzes, asking students to write down questions they have, etc). However, it takes time to review the students' responses. Thus, it is difficult for instructors to fully assess the degree of student comprehension of the material as it is being presented.Reports from as early as the 1970s on the use of electronic response systems in educational programs showed that such systems could serve as useful tools in large classrooms. 3 Audience response systems (ARS) are electronic tools that provide instantaneous feedback to facilitators and audience members about participants' responses (anonymously) to multiple-choice questions. ARS technology has largely been used by the corporate sector at training meetings and conferences, or as interactive trivia gaming system in taverns. Studies of ARS in corporate training have reported enhanced trainee interest, attentiveness, and retention. 4 The term interactive student response (ISR) system was coined for referring to these systems in the classroom setting. The typical ISR system includes a computer and specific software, a projector and screen, a radio signal receiver unit or a directly wired receiver unit, and personal hand-held units Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an interactive student response (ISR) system on student learning, interest, and satisfaction. Methods. Students enrolled in 3 courses, Clinical Pharmacokinetics, Medical Literature Evaluation, and Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, were taught using either a traditional lecture format (study year 1) or an ISR system format (study year 2). Primary outcomes of interest were performance on examinations and student attitudes. Results. Students using the ISR system had better scores on the Clinical Pharmacokinetics examination questions (mean scores, 82.6% ± 9.6% vs 63.8% ± 8.3%, p <0.001), on the cumulative final examination for Medical Literature Evaluation (82.9% ±11.5% vs 78.0% ± 12.2%, p = 0.016), and on the evaluable "analysis type" examination questions in the Pathophysio...

Pharmacy and other health sciences educators have often faced curriculum and assessment issues. However, as expectations for accountability and assessment have continued to grow for higher education institutions, there is increasing concern about the development of assessment plans and the appropriate use of assessment data. A variety of approaches have been used for development of both curriculum and program assessment plans. Although there is no single correct method for accomplishing either task, there are important principles, concepts, characteristics, and approaches that should be considered, such as beginning with well-defined student learning outcomes, using educational approaches designed to facilitate student achievement of those outcomes, and designing assessment strategies that target the specific outcomes. Faculty at schools and colleges of pharmacy need to understand educational concepts and theories, the principles/characteristics of effective assessment programs, obstacles to assessment plan development and ways to minimize them, and methods to create an environment conducive to curriculum and assessment efforts. They should also consider their own unique circumstances when undertaking curriculum modifications and preparing/implementing a comprehensive assessment plan. Professional associations and accrediting agencies can also fill an important role by assisting schools and colleges in their efforts to improve student learning.

Objectives. To compare students' performance in and course evaluations for a clinical pharmacokinetics course taught in a traditional classroom setting, and for the same course taught via interactive videoconferencing. Methods. The course was taught in a traditional classroom setting to 38 students, and in asynchronous sessions via interactive videoconferencing to 75 students at a distant site. A course evaluation was administered to each group at the conclusion of the courses. Results. The students in the live classroom setting had a higher mean final course grade of 90.7% compared to the mean final course grade (87.8%) of students in the interactive videoconferencing group (P 5 0.024). The mean evaluation score for students in the videoconferencing class were higher than for students in the live classroom setting (4.73 vs. 4.58; P , 0.001). Conclusions. Students in both the classroom setting and interactive videoconferencing setting performed well and had a high overall perception of the course.

Objective. To describe students' and faculty members' perceptions of the impact of lecture recording in a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. Methods. Second-and third-year pharmacy students and faculty members completed an anonymous survey instrument regarding their perceptions of lecture recording with 2 classroom lecture capture software programs, Camtasia Studio and Wimba Classroom. Results. Most students (82%) responded that Camtasia was very helpful and almost half (49%) responded that Wimba Classroom was helpful (p,0.001). Forty-six percent of the students reported being more likely to miss a class that was recorded; however, few students (10%) reported using recordings as a substitute for attending class. The most common concern of faculty members was decreased student attendance (27%). Conclusion. Pharmacy students consider lecture recordings beneficial, and they use the recordings primarily to review the lecture. While faculty members reported concerns with decreased attendance, few students reported using recordings as an alternative to class attendance.

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