An Innovative Pharmacology Curriculum for Medical Students: Promoting Higher Order Cognition, Learner-Centered Coaching, and Constructive Feedback Through A Social Pedagogy Framework

Abstract

BackgroundOngoing developments in medical education recognize the move to curricula that support self-regulated learning processes, skills of thinking, and the ability to adapt and navigate uncertain situations as much as the knowledge base of learners. Difficulties encountered in pursuing this reform, especially for pharmacology, include the tendency of beginner learners not to ask higher-order questions and the potential incongruency between creating authentic spaces for self-directed learning and providing external expert guidance. We tested the feasibility of developing, implementing, and sustaining an innovative model of social pedagogy as a strategy to address these challenges.MethodsConstructivism, communities of practice, and networked learning theory were selected as lenses for development of the model. 365 first-year medical students participated between 2014-2018; they were introduced to pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics via 15 online modules that each included: learning objectives, a clinical vignette, teaching video, cumulative concept map, and small group wiki assignment. Five-person communities organized around the 15 wiki assignments were a key component where learners answered asynchronous, case-based questions that touched iteratively on Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy levels. The social pedagogy model’s wiki assignments were explored using abductive qualitative data analysis.ResultsQualitative analysis revealed that learners acquired and applied a conceptual framework for approaching pharmacology as a discipline, and demonstrated adaptive mastery by evaluating and interacting competently with unfamiliar drug information. Learners and faculty acquired habits of self-directed assessment seeking and learner-centered coaching, respectively; specifically, the model taught learners to look outward to peers, faculty, and external sources of information for credible and constructive feedback, and that this feedback could be trusted as a basis to direct performance improvement. ConclusionsThis social pedagogy model is agnostic with regard to pharmacology and type of health professional learner; therefore, we anticipate its benefits to be transferable to other disciplines.

The use of a technology-assisted and teacher-supervised online discussion platform to promote academic progress in blended embryology courses

“…For example, in a clinical clerkship program, Koop and others [20] found that students who were required to submit a revised paper demonstrated a much higher level of peer-to-peer interactions and more task-focused discussions on an online platform. Moreover, the introduction of internet-based wiki assignments was also reported to be effective in changing medical students' use of self-directed learning strategies, such as feedback seeking, peer evaluation and maintenance of learning communities [21].…”

Educational Interventions for Medical Students to Improve Pharmacological Knowledge and Prescribing Skills: A Scoping Review

“…Eleven studies used multicomponent interventions [42,52,53,67,71,[89][90][91][92][93][94], and of these, seven focused on prescribing skills and four on clinical pharmacology knowledge. Among all seven studies on prescribing skills, the most common components included prescription writing exercises (4 studies) [42,53,71,89], case-based learning (3 studies) [90,91,94], and group discussions (3 studies) [42,53,71].…”

“…Three studies reported positive Kirkpatrick level 2c outcomes -statistically significant improvement in prescription writing and medication communication skills [53,71,94] and another reported retention of prescribing skills four years after the intervention (42). As for the four studies which examined the effectiveness of multicomponent educational interventions in the clinical pharmacology teaching [52,67,92,93], all four included a component of didactic teaching and reported at least one positive finding on Kirkpatrick level 1. Three of the studies also incorporated group learning in the format of group assignments or group discussions [52,92,93].…”

“…As for the four studies which examined the effectiveness of multicomponent educational interventions in the clinical pharmacology teaching [52,67,92,93], all four included a component of didactic teaching and reported at least one positive finding on Kirkpatrick level 1. Three of the studies also incorporated group learning in the format of group assignments or group discussions [52,92,93].…”

Impact of Integrated Modular Pharmacology Curriculum on Undergraduate Medical Student’s Performance

“…This revolutionary shift in the curriculum would not only meet the requirement of global medical education standards but would also play a role in patient-oriented care in health care organizations 15 .To accommodate modern trends, several new modalities have also been adopted at our institute including problem-based learning, integrated seminars, student-directed learning, small group discussions, and formative assessments 16,17 .…”