Use of condensed videos in a flipped classroom for pharmaceutical calculations: Student perceptions and academic performance.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The flipped teaching method was implemented through a series of multiple condensed videos for pharmaceutical calculations with student perceptions and academic performance assessed post-intervention. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Student perceptions from the intervention group were assessed via an online survey. Pharmaceutical exam scores of the intervention group were compared to the control group. The intervention group spent a greater amount of class time on active learning. FINDINGS: The majority of students (68.2%) thought that the flipped teaching method was more effective to learn pharmaceutical calculations than the traditional method. The mean exam scores of the intervention group were not significantly different than the control group (80.5 ± 15.8% vs 77.8 ± 16.8%; p = 0.253). DISCUSSION: Previous studies on the flipped teaching method have shown mixed results in regards to student perceptions and exam scores, where either student satisfaction increased or exam scores improved, but rarely both. SUMMARY: The flipped teaching method was rated favorably by a majority of students. The flipped teaching method resulted in similar outcomes in pharmaceutical calculations exam scores, and it appears to be an acceptable and effective option to deliver pharmaceutical calculations in a Doctor of Pharmacy program.

Pharmacy students' performance and perceptions in a flipped teaching pilot on cardiac arrhythmias.

OBJECTIVE: To implement the flipped teaching method in a 3-class pilot on cardiac arrhythmias and to assess the impact of the intervention on academic performance and student perceptions. DESIGN: An intervention group of 101 first-year pharmacy students, who took the class with the flipped teaching method, were supplied with prerecorded lectures prior to their 3 classes (1 class in each of the following subjects: basic sciences, pharmacology, and therapeutics) on cardiac arrhythmias. Class time was focused on active-learning and case-based exercises. Students then took a final examination that included questions on cardiac arrhythmias. The examination scores of the intervention group were compared to scores of the Spring 2011 control group of 105 first-year students who took the class with traditional teaching methods. An online survey was conducted to assess student feedback from the intervention group. ASSESSMENT: The mean examination scores of the intervention group were significantly higher than the mean examination scores of the control group for the cardiac arrhythmia classes in pharmacology (with 89.6 ± 2.0% vs 56.8 ± 2.2%, respectively) and therapeutics (89.2 ± 1.4% vs 73.7 ± 2.1%, respectively). The survey indicated higher student satisfaction for flipped classes with highly rated learning objectives, recordings, and in-class activities. CONCLUSION: Use of the flipped teaching method in a 3-class pilot on cardiac arrhythmias improved examination scores for 2 of the 3 classes (pharmacology and therapeutics). Student satisfaction was influenced by the quality of the learning objectives, prerecorded lectures, and inclass active-learning activities.