Use of Concept Mapping to Identify Expectations of Pharmacy Students Selecting Elective Courses

Abstract

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the use of concept mapping as a method for analyzing pharmacy students’ qualitative perceptions of their expectations of elective courses and to thus help guide delivery methods and course content. A survey containing demographic, Likert scale, and open-ended questions was administered to second-year pharmacy students prior to the start of elective courses and an innovative methodology, concept mapping, was used to identify major themes relating to student expectations. The association between preferred class delivery method (online versus in person) with student gender and English-as-a-second-language status (ESL) was also assessed. Note that this study was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ninety-eight out of 133 students (74%) completed the survey. Overall, 56% students stated that they preferred online delivery of courses (68% of these students were female, 36% were male). ESL status did not impact preference. The most common themes relating to student course expectations were the desire to learn about the elective course topic as well “real-world” utility. Our combined data indicate that delivery method is a key factor contributing to students’ choice of elective course and that concept mapping is an effective and efficient way to help identify student expectations of elective courses.

COVID-19-Driven Improvements and Innovations in Pharmacy Education: A Scoping Review

“…Undoubtedly, pharmacy programs that already offered online classes were better positioned to transition more of their curricular components to an online setting during the COVID-19 pandemic based on their existing infrastructure and experience. Several educational research studies published before the COVID-19 pandemic have shown that online courses are generally well accepted by pharmacy students and that academic standards can be maintained when pharmacy courses are offered online [2][3][4]. For example, our group and others have demonstrated that more than 50% of pharmacy students taking elective courses preferred online delivery and that student satisfaction levels with online elective courses are high [2][3][4].…”

“…The successful use of online delivery of didactic classes pre-pandemic and during the pandemic is well described in the literature for many types of higher education, including pharmacy education, with many students indicating high levels of satisfaction with online education [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]66]. As mentioned above, it would be helpful for future studies in pharmacy education to place more focus on the impact of online learning on student learning outcomes (in this scoping review, only one study assessed course scores and grades and showed no difference in performance).…”

“…Several educational research studies published before the COVID-19 pandemic have shown that online courses are generally well accepted by pharmacy students and that academic standards can be maintained when pharmacy courses are offered online [2][3][4]. For example, our group and others have demonstrated that more than 50% of pharmacy students taking elective courses preferred online delivery and that student satisfaction levels with online elective courses are high [2][3][4]. Porter et al directly compared online versus in-person delivery of the same didactic elective course and demonstrated that there was no difference in PharmD student performance levels based on course delivery method [3].…”

Health sciences students' perspectives on online teaching and learning: Extending the implications beyond the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Otherwise, the disadvantages of T&L in a DLE will come to the fore. They primarily relate to lower student engagement, limited interaction, lack of hands-on experience, interaction in discussions, and the integrity of exams administered online (Chen et al, 2020;Courtney et al, 2022;Dziuban et al, 2015;Ives, 2020;Pate et al, 2017;Porter et al, 2014;Shawaqfeh et al, 2020;Vinall & Balan, 2021). Indeed, online T&L was not a new concept in 2020, but since it was not extensively used by most universities, majority of teachers were not adequately trained nor familiar with the technological capabilities that can facilitate the learning process in the digital environment.…”

Perceptions of Pharmacy Students on the E-Learning Strategies Adopted during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

“…For instance, 56% of pharmacy students declared that they preferred the online delivery of courses over in-person classes in a study, which was carried before the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the online delivery format was a key factor of students' choice of an elective course [15].…”