Entwicklung und Evaluation mediendidaktischer Konzepte zur Computer-basierten Lernerfolgskontrolle im Fach Molekulare Pharmazie

Abstract

Within the last 10 years the pharmacy education in Switzerland was extensively reorganized. Due to the enormous increase in biomedical and pharmaceutical knowledge, handling information and communication technologies as well as the compilation of new learning strategies became an integral constituent of the study. The integration of new media into the curriculum of molecular pharmacy as well as the development of a virtual learning environment was the aim of the award-winning project pharma2 [pharmasquare]. Financed by the Swiss Virtual Campus and matching funds of the University of Basel a blended learning concept was developed. Thus, it was guaranteed that the strengths of the different educational methods in the real and virtual space could be used, in order to optimally promote learning in molecular pharmacy education. In order to activate individual learning processes, verify learning outcomes and also to be able to assign credit points, the development of computerbased assessments was a substantial constituent of the project. Therefore two concepts were developed within this work by use of innovative information- and communication technologies and consideration of didactical realizations: the virtual test and training system PharmAskYou, which was developed particularly for theoretical learning contents, and the video-based, interactive learning system ViLab designed for practical courses. With didactical development, response-contingent feedback and appealing design PharmAskYou make it also possible to test questions on higher cognitive levels within the area of application, analysis, synthesis and also evaluation of pharmaceutical problems adapted to specific needs of molecular pharmacy education. With ViLab the practical courses in the laboratory can be prepared optimally, without stressing material or personnel resources. Within each step the students can make decisions which influence their result. As in the real laboratory, an assistant gives an individual feedback to the students for their decisions. Thus the students become acquainted with not only the method, but also the consequences of incorrect operating. The integration of the concepts PharmAskYou and ViLab into the curriculum of molecular pharmacy was accompanied by different evaluation methods. The results show that the students’ acceptance was very high. Continuous assessments and interactive exercises, integration of animations, video-clips and photos as well as appealing layout motivate the students for studying at the computer. Thus on the one hand a better cross-linking between the face-to-face and virtual events could be achieved; on the other hand, continuous feedback about learning success and failure and at the same time appropriate cognitive level according to the learning objects of molecular pharmacy education could be maintained. Improvement potentials are situated particularly in the integration of the ViLab into the practical course in the laboratory. It became obvious that the positive effects of new media do not occur by the bare application, but a successful integration into the course, in this case the practical course, is inevitable.