Abstract
This study reports on the learner impact, practicability and cost effectiveness of an individual practical skills test designed to assess the interpretative and manipulative skills of undergraduate pharmacy in a laboratory setting. The reliability of the assessment tool across a 5 year period was examined and refinements introduced in response to constructive feedback from colleagues and learner feedback recorded via end of year Student Evaluation Questionnaires. A blended learning strategy supported the needs of multiple learning styles and inclusion of a formative assessment increased student confidence and improved cohort performance in the summative assessment. Future directions include the introduction of a peer learning activity as a means of reducing group sizes and providing an opportunity for the learners to develop skills in constructive critique and reflective learning.
Highlights
In Scotland the undergraduate pharmacy degree is a 4 year undergraduate Master’s degree (QAA, 2002) accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
A popular degree choice for undergraduate students, each Stage of the MPharm degree has typically between 130 - 140 full time students enrolled and such large classes are the main driver for a group approach being adopted in practical coursework sessions
In the early years of the MPharm degree most modules have a minimum of two components of assessment aligned to the lecture material and the laboratory coursework sessions for which there are a variety of assessment strategies in use
Summary
In Scotland the undergraduate pharmacy degree is a 4 year undergraduate Master’s degree (QAA, 2002) accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). Biochemistry is a Stage 2 (Scottish Credit Qualification Framework level 8) degree module and forms the foundations for Stage 3 modules such as Biotherapeutics and Pharmaceutical Analysis both of which require students to be numerate, competent in the handling of micropipettes and construction of calibration lines and confident in their ability to interpret and evaluate experimental data. The assessment of the Biochemistry coursework sessions has been by an individual written test and an individual laboratory report. The advantages of this approach were that it enabled the assessment of core knowledge and evaluative skills required for later Stages of the degree including e.g. the preparation of a final year thesis. The disadvantages were that it gave no measure of a student’s competency within a laboratory setting and there was little incentive for students to contribute individually to the group coursework activity since by sharing the data generated as a group, individuals could produce satisfactory submissions without necessarily having contributed effectively to the laboratory practicals
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