Andrew A Webster1, Robert M Riggs. 1. McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Samford University, Birmingham, AL 35229, USA. aawebste@samford.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To establish an aggressive problem-based learning (PBL) format for the medicinal chemistry course and assess the outcomes of student learning. METHODS: To assess learning in the new format, precourse and postcourse examinations were given to students enrolled before and after problem-based learning was implemented, and appropriate statistical analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The PBL cohort did not learn the same amount of factual content yet performed the same on higher-order thought questions as the non-PBL cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Problem-based learning may not be the ideal method for teaching medicinal chemistry. This may be due to several factors including: student learning type, the lack of a cognitive framework for learning in the basic sciences, and time constraints.
OBJECTIVES: To establish an aggressive problem-based learning (PBL) format for the medicinal chemistry course and assess the outcomes of student learning. METHODS: To assess learning in the new format, precourse and postcourse examinations were given to students enrolled before and after problem-based learning was implemented, and appropriate statistical analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The PBL cohort did not learn the same amount of factual content yet performed the same on higher-order thought questions as the non-PBL cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Problem-based learning may not be the ideal method for teaching medicinal chemistry. This may be due to several factors including: student learning type, the lack of a cognitive framework for learning in the basic sciences, and time constraints.
Authors: Francine D Salinitri; Mary Beth O'Connell; Candice L Garwood; Victoria Tutag Lehr; Karina Abdallah Journal: Am J Pharm Educ Date: 2012-04-10 Impact factor: 2.047