Engaging Kinesthetic Learners in Pharmacy Education

Mallory Mouradjian, PharmD, PGY1 Pharmacy Resident, UMMC

Within any given classroom, each student may have a different learning style in which they best gather and store information. Some learners understand information best by reading information or interpreting graphical information while others may prefer to listen to a podcast. One common method used to classify learning styles utilizes the VARK modalities, first described by Fleming and Mills in 1992. The postulated that there were four categories that learning modalities could fall under:

• Visual: learn best through visual depictions such as charts and graphs
• Aural/Auditory: learn best via listening and reciting back in their own words
• Read/Write: learn best via textual inputs/outputs, like to read and digest information on their own time
• Kinesthetic: Learn best through hands-on experiences

Given the variety of modalities that students utilize to understand information, it is in the best interest of an educator to attempt to incorporate diverse activities into the structure of their courses. Busan et al. conducted a survey of 230 medical students in 2014 in an effort to characterize the distribution of learning styles of learning in the medical field. They issued a questionnaire that placed students into 3 categories, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. They found that 33% were visual learners, 26% auditory, and 14% kinesthetic. The remaining students were classified as multimodal, meaning that they preferred two or more of the learning styles, namely 12% visual and auditory styles, 6% visual and kinesthetic, 4% auditory and kinesthetic, and 5% utilized all three styles¹.

Busan et al.  demonstrated that there is a significant portion of learners that are classified as kinesthetic learners. Despite this information, some academics claim that kinesthetic learners may be the least engaged group in modern education.² This is not necessarily a surprise as It can be a challenge to incorporate activities for kinesthetic learners in the classroom, especially if the format is lecture-based.

Kinesthetic learners, as the name implies, understand information best when they can carry physical, hands-on activities. They “learn by doing,” not by listening or reading material. They benefit from learning experiences that incorporate case study and real-world scenarios in which that can role-play and use critical thinking. When looking at pharmacy school programs, kinesthetic learners benefit most from the last year of experiential education but may be poorly engaged prior to this last year of clinical rotations. Some pharmacy schools have begun implementing activities in order to reach this under-engaged group of learners. Below are some possible activities that may help to engage kinesthetic learners.

Real-world Simulation with a Virtual Patient

A group of educators at MCPHS University incorporated a virtual patient software program into the curriculum of their pharmacotherapuetics course. The software allowed students the opportunity to interview a patient, perform a physical exam, and provide medication counseling to digital standardized patient. This was intended to supplement the therapeutics course as it focused on disease states that were being covered in the course. The students were evaluated on their ability to conduct a mock clinic visit. They found that students that utilized the software conducted more thorough patient interviews during their mock clinic visits and students felt that this experience had been helpful in their understanding of the material.³

Case-based Learning

Another strategy that can be utilized to engage kinesthetic learners is to complement traditional learning methods with case-based learning to encourage higher order thinking. Case-based learning generally involves the distribution of a realistic patient case, complete with all of the pertinent laboratory data and patient history, and students are required to work through the case, develop a care plan, and provide supporting literature. The case is then discussed in small groups of 6 to 10 students to encourage collaborative thinking and problem-solving. Jesus et al. found that students that participated in the case-based learning had improved clinical decision-making and learning motivation as well as higher post-exam scores.

Gamification

Gamification is the practice of adapting a game for a purpose of education. This method can reach kinesthetic learners because it allows them to learn while physically participating in an interactive activity rather than simply listening to a lecture. Educational games can range from Jeopardy-type games that facilitate memorization of drug names, indications, and adverse effects, to games that require students to apply information learned in lectures in realistic scenarios. In a systematic review from 2105 that reviewed the use of games in pharmacy education found that educational games may help “complement and reinforce taught material by promoting students’ participation and engagement in an interactive, enjoyable, and motivational learning environment”.⁵

Kinesthetic learners are an under-engaged group in the medical educations. It can be a challenge to incorporate activities that involve hands-on activities in a lecture-based course, however there are potential benefits from encouraging hands-on and critical thinking activities as a supplement to the class.

References:

[1] Busan A. Learning styles of medical students. Curr Health Sci J. 2014;40(2):104-110. Full Text

[2] Wood N, Sereni-Massinger C. Engaging online kinesthetic learners in active learning. Proceedings of IMCIC – JCSIT 2016:116-119. Full Text

[3] Taglieri CA, Crosby SJ, Zimmerman K, Schneider T, Patel DK. Evaluation of the use of a virtual patient on student competence and confidence in performing simulated clinic visits. Am J Pharm Educ. 2017;81(5):1-9. Full Text

[4] Jesus A, Gomes MJ, Cruz A. A case based learning model in therapeutics. Inov Pharm. 2012;3(4):1-12. Full Text

[5] Aburahma MH, Mohammed HM. Educational games as a teaching tool in pharmacy curriculum. Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(4):1-9. Full Text