ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a large shift from face-to-face (FTF) to remote learning. Evaluating students' perceptions of remote learning provides educators with opportunity to inform their instructional methods. This study sought to evaluate pharmacy students' self-perceived (1) confidence, (2) preparedness, (3) satisfaction, and (4) motivation following remote vs. FTF classes. An electronic survey was distributed to six pharmacy student cohorts enrolled in the University of Findlay College of Pharmacy during April 2021 to measure the objectives. The Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, and Spearman's rank correlation tests were used to analyze the data (alpha = 0.05). A total of 151 students completed the survey. While the responses differed among the cohorts, first-professional year students reported lower motivation to study (p = 0.008), engage (p = 0.008), satisfaction with content presentation (p = 0.05), preparedness for exams (p < 0.001), and confidence to communicate (p = 0.008) and succeed in a career (p < 0.001) when studying remotely vs. taking FTF classes compared to fourth-professional year students. Positive correlations were observed between students who felt motivated to engage and study (ρ = 0.501, p < 0.001), motivated to study and exam preparedness (ρ = 0.511, p < 0.001), satisfied with course material presentation and professor accessibility (ρ = 0.688, p < 0.001), and exam preparedness (ρ = 0.521, p < 0.001), and felt prepared for exams and able to succeed in a pharmacy career (ρ = 0.573, p < 0.001). Taking the above results into consideration, pharmacy educators may designate more time and instructional support to first-professional year students in an effort to improve students' perceptions of motivation, satisfaction, confidence, and preparedness.
ABSTRACT
Digital storytelling is a type of active learning that allows instructors to simulate real-life situations through a series of connected videos. While this technique has been used in other healthcare education disciplines, its use in pharmacy has not been well documented. A digital storytelling model was incorporated in a required self-care pharmacy course to assess if the technique was helpful to improve the knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction of students. Due to a shift in online learning, the self-care course offered a remote exam review session containing a digital storytelling model, and this approach was compared to an in-person exam review that followed a lecture-based model held earlier in the course. Pre- and post-knowledge assessments were given to determine the impact of the digital storytelling review. There were 50 students involved in both sessions and there was a 70% response rate in the digital storytelling group and a 90% response rate in the lecture-based group. Students' knowledge numerically improved, but not to a statistically significant level for most questions. Nonetheless, students reported more confidence (p < 0.05) in their ability to pass the upcoming exam following the digital storytelling review. Thematic analysis revealed that the digital storytelling session was engaging and interactive, though time-management and breakout rooms could be further optimized. Based on these results, exam review in a required self-care pharmacy course using a digital storytelling format may be a suitable method for students to apply course content and may particularly be of utility in online or hybrid courses.
