Flipping the Classroom: Pharmacy Education Perspectives

Flipping the Classroom: Pharmacy Education Perspectives

By Jesse Rungkitwattanakul PharmD

Pharmacy Practice Resident, Georgetown University Hospital

“Flipping the classroom” has become an interesting topic for discussion in the past several years among educators. A generation is “a group of individuals belonging to a specific category at the same time”¹. Their shared experiences and stories greatly influence the way the learner processes information. Academia currently involves the coexistence of several generations including traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y, and each generation has a unique teaching and learning method/style¹. In the classroom, it is often common to see the oldest generation (the professor) instructing the youngest generation (the pharmacy students), creating a generation gap. Because of the different teaching and learning styles associated with the generations, this gap can be an obstacle to both teaching and learning. Therefore, the flipped classroom may be a way to bridge that gap.

What is the flipped classroom?

The flipped classroom approach has been used for several years in a variety of disciplines, notably within the humanities and social sciences. This method encourages students to gain first-exposure learning prior to class and focus on processing part of learning such as synthesizing, analyzing, problem solving in class through guidance from the instructor. To ensure that learners complete the preparation necessary for productive class time, the assignment-based model, in which learners have to produce or brainstorm work before coming to class is proposed. With the appropriate preparation from home, the learners receive productive feedback through the process or activity performed in class. This reduces the need for the instructor to provide extensive background teaching and allows the student to achieve a higher level of comprehension². A successful flipped classroom should have three goals: (1) allow the students to become critical thinkers, (2) fully engage students and instructors, and (3) stimulate the development of a deep understanding of the material.

Does the “flipped classroom” work?

What are the evidences to support the use the pharmacy education?

Koo et al conducted a study determining whether a flipped classroom design would improve student performance and perceptions of the learning experience compared to traditional lecture course design in a required pharmacotherapy course for second-year pharmacy students³. Students viewed short online videos about the fundamental concepts and answered self-assessment questions prior to face-to-face sessions involving patient case discussions. By comparing before and after, the final grades of an A or B were more prevalent after the implementation as compared to before (88% vs. 67%, p=0.005). Additionally, the study conducted by William Prescott et al also showed a similar trend, in which the program implementation resulted in the higher course grades in the intervention group as compared to the traditional classroom setting (90.3% vs. 85.8%, p<0.001)⁴.

On the other hand, regarding the student’s perception, Khanova et al reported some interesting key aspect from the learner’s perspective⁵. The researchers evaluated students’ perception of the flipped classroom on a required pharmacotherapy course by giving students pre-course and post-course surveys. Before the course, the vast majority of students in the study sample (72%) expressed preference for traditional lecture by the professors over flipped classroom. When students were asked at the conclusion of the course whether they preferred coming to class to listen to a professor lecture or learning the basic content prior to class and using class time for applied learning, 83% indicated that they preferred the former. Regarding the free text answers, comments indicating preference for traditional lecture, such as “I would much rather come to class and be lectured” were common, but many students stated they liked “the idea” of “learning concepts prior to class” and using class time for discussion and other forms of active learning. The main critical perspective regarding the overall course design was under the perception of time-consuming activity as seen as “With all of our other classes, I did not have time to read the large amount of material before each class. This made class time very confusing and unproductive”. This study essentially highlights practical challenges of implementing a flipped learning model. Student feedback informed potential redesign of the course and the development of a more effective model for pharmacy education.

Conclusions

The flipped classroom is a useful alternative to the traditional classroom. It is a method that embraces students' need for active learning in a group setting while maintaining the traditional classroom method for introducing the didactic information. Active learning increases student engagement and can lead to improved retention of material as demonstrated on standard examinations. However, the program must be cautiously implemented since it requires a significantly higher amount of preparation prior to class.

References

1. Berret D. How “flipping the classroom can improve the traditional lecture. The Chronical of Higher Education 2012: [cited 2017 Oct 20]. Available from: http://www.chronicle.com/article/How-Flipping-the-Classroom/130857

2. Rotellar C, Cain J. Research, Perspectives, and Recommendations on Implementing the Flipped Classroom. Am J Pharm Educ 2016; 80(2): 34. [cited 2017 Oct 15]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4827585

3. Koo CL, Demps EL, Farris C, Bowman JD, Panahi L, Boyle P. Impact of Flipped Classroom Design on Student Performance and Perceptions in a Pharmacotherapy Course. Am J Pharm Educ. 2016 Mar 25; 80(2): 33. [cited 2017 Oct 15]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4827584

4. Prescott WA, Woodruff A, Prescott GM, Albanese N, Bernhardi C, et al. Introduction and Assessment of a Blended-Learning Model to Teach Patient Assessment in a Doctor of Pharmacy Program. Am J Pharm Educ. 2016 Dec 25;80(10):176. [cited 2017 Oct 15]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5289732

5. Khanova J, McLaughlin JE, Rhoney DH, Roth MT, Harris S. Student Perceptions of a Flipped Pharmacotherapy Course. Am J Pharm Educ. 2015 Nov 25;79(9):1. [cited 2017 Oct 15]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4727361/