Concept Mapping to Evaluate an Undergraduate Pharmacy Curriculum

Abstract

Objectives. To explore a pharmacy school curriculum for opportunities for student engagement and to determine how these might shape student identity as pharmacists. Methods. The learning aims and objectives and methods of assessment from the curriculum of a bachelor of pharmacy (BPharm) program were collected and a concept map was generated. The concept map was interpreted using Barnett and Coates' curricular domains of knowing, acting and being. Results. The key concepts within the intended curriculum that were identified from the concept map were drugs, pharmacy, understanding, practice, and skills. Concepts such as patient and consumer, which would indicate a patient-centered approach to the curriculum, were limited. The main form of assessment used in the curriculum was multiple-choice and short-answer examinations. Conclusion. There was an emphasis in the curriculum on student acquisition of knowledge and this was reinforced by the use of theoretical examinations. The content of the curriculum was drug-centered rather than patient-centered and the emergence of students' identity as pharmacists may be fragmented as a result.

Randomized comparison between objective-based lectures and outcome-based concept mapping for teaching neurological care to nursing students

“…The theory of social learning gives consideration to the type of person students are becoming as a result of their learning experiences (Wenger, 1998). If educators shift their view and focus for learning from cognitive to social, then their way of designing the curriculum will change (Noble et al, 2011).…”

A Review of Assessment Methods within Didactic Syllabi from a Graduate School of Pharmacy

“…Noble et al (2011) have created a taxonomy that serves to classify assessment types utilized in pharmacy programs. Faculty in the School of Pharmacy at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDSP) have used Noble's taxonomy as a guide for classifying course‐embedded assessment methods.…”

“…For instance, syllabi express educational objectives and assessment procedures. Noble et al (2001) has described educational objectives as, “educational intentions of a course” and “statements of what the students will achieve” (2). A detailed assessment audit was conducted for the didactic courses found in the FDSP program.…”

Becoming a pharmacist: the role of curriculum in professional identity formation

“…These streams are consistent across the year groups from second year to fourth year and are described as being vertically and horizontally integrated. The main form of assessment is written theory examinations and these tend to comprise multiple choice and short answer questions 28. Other assessment activities include laboratory reports, essays and practical examinations such as objective structured clinical examinations.…”